Abstract:
The pollination of plants is
an important ecological service in natural
and agricultural ecosystems. The majority of
angiosperm plants rely on animals for
pollination. The co-evolution of bees and
flowers has resulted in special
morphological adaptations for both insects
and plants and the need of some plants for
pollination by bees was absolute. One of the
major forage crops in Egypt and in other
parts of the world is alfalfa. The leafcutting
bees, Megachile rotunda, are very important
pollinators of alfalfa. Different natural nests
have been found in the Eastern part of
Egypt, but these nests are found under a
high risk, due to the construction of new
houses instead of old mud wall houses.
Foam nests have been created from 2003 as
hives for the conservation of bees, which
were used for alfalfa pollination. Using
leafcutting hives has resulted in a high
alfalfa seed production. Easy to handle by
farmers, hives are very easy for
preservation, storage and reuse.
