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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Peter L Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:54:27 -0500
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I wrote:
* They are saying that native pollinators are responsible for $3 billion worth of crops. Twenty percent of the value of the crops pollinated in the US! Does anybody here believe that figure?

I wondered where that figure came from. Turns out it is based on Morse and Calderone's 2000 paper on Pollination. However, they give figures on the percentage of each crop that is pollinated by honey bees. The native pollinators group works backwards and assumes that the remainder is done by native bees, discounting the probability that the bulk of non-honey bee pollination is actually represented by wind pollinated and self pollinated plants. But where did Morse and Calderone get their numbers? 

Source: 
1978, 1992, and 1997 values from the U.S. Census of Agriculture. 
1952, 1962, 1972 values from Agricultural Statistics, United States Dept. of Agriculture and 1978 census of Agriculture. 

So the estimates are based in large part on data collected about bee pollination in the fifties, sixties, and seventies!

Peter Borst

thinking "There are three kinds of lies:  lies, damned lies, and statistics"

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