>Does anyone have info on the effects of bees on a soybean crop.  Are there     
>any reports on the possible increase in yields.  Are there certian soybean     
>plants that the bee's like and others that is does not.                        
                                                                                
Once again, turning to McGregor's 1976 crop pollination bible, from the         
section on soybeans:                                                            
                                                                                
"The soybean is considered to be self-fertile and not benefited by insect       
pollination...Although there is no experimental evidence to support them,       
some soybean growers in Arkansas have indicated that bees increase              
production of beans, and they encourage the presence of apiaries near their     
fields. Tests with plants caged to exclude bees have shown no decrease in       
production over exposed plots"                                                  
                                                                                
"Piper and Morse (1923) noted that soybean flowers were 'much visited by        
bees'. They also noted that three of their varieties, when in full flower       
at Jackson, Tenn., were very fragrant - the odor suggesting that of lilacs.     
Although they gave no indication that these varieties were more attractive      
to bees than other varieties, the information indicates that cultivars          
might be selected with aroma or attractiveness that when incorporated in a      
hybrid seed program might efficiently attract pollinating insects. because      
of the potential value of hybrid soybeans, the breeders might watch for         
selections that show attractiveness to bees"                                    
                                                                                
"No studies have been made on the value of concentrating the gregarious         
types of wild bees on soybeans, although such insects might prove to be         
more efficient than honey bees"                                                 
                                                                                
The bottom line:                                                                
                                                                                
"There are no recommendations for the use of bees in pollination of             
soybeans. The subject is reviewed, however, because of the interest in          
hybrid soybeans and the possibility of using pollinating insects in hybrid      
soybean production".                                                            
                                                                                
Hope this helps,                                                                
                                                                                
Doug Yanega       Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr.           
Champaign, IL 61820 USA      phone (217) 244-6817, fax (217) 333-4949           
 affiliate, Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dept. of Entomology             
          http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu:80/~dyanega/my_home.html                     
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness                 
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82