A horticulture university in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, has developed a technique to rear bumble bees in captivity.Honey bees, particularly bumble bees, play a major role in pollination, but their non-availability at different locations has always proved to be big handicap for horticulturists. Bumble bees, because of their large carrying capacity, are more effective pollinators compared to ordinary honey bees. Honey bees play a dominating role in commercial pollination around the world.The unique technique of rearing bumble bees in captive conditions has been developed by Raj Kumar Thakur, a scientist at the Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Solan. “Dr Thakur started his research work by drawing observations on underground nests that were found near abandoned sites of rodents (ant hills) covered by dry leaves and organic matter,” said Jag Mohan Singh, vice-chancellor of the university.After recording the architecture of the nests and the behaviour of the bumble bees in their natural habitats, domiciles were designed for rearing the native spices. First the queens were captured between February and March and kept in rearing cages at fixed temperature and relative humidity. The queens were later fed an artificial diet and during the experiment, the queens finally started laying eggs in captivity and developed a full colony.In dry temperate zones where ordinary honey bees do not exist, bumble bees are the main pollinators for fruit crops. Under protective cultivation like greenhouses and polyhouses, the role of bumble bees becomes more important as honey bees were not found to be suitable pollinators in such an environment.“Bumble bees can search for food at temperatures as low as zero degrees Celsius when all other insects are immobilised,” said Thakur. He said the technology would open new ways of pollination and enhance productivity. This would enable the Parmar University to provide pollination services to horticulturists and vegetable growers at cheaper rates. Bumble bees play a significant role in plants that corolla so deep that honey bees neglect them. These bees are true survivors found both in warmer regions and in the higher reaches. They are considered better pollinators than honey bees because of their bigger and hairier bodies.
