Chemicals cause more problems in areas where irrigation systems are commonly used, and bees that rely upon irrigation as a water source can die from consuming the water's chemicals. Researchers are currently investigating pesticide alternatives such as the use of biological control of insects and weeds. In America's present agricultural situation, the honeybee plays a key role in pollinating over ninety crops. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther, a male part of the flower, to the stigma, a female part. Pollination is necessary for plant reproduction.
Bees carry pollen from one plant to another when they collect both nectar and pollen.
In the United States, one-third of all food consumed by humans somehow requires the pollination performed by honeybees. Cantaloupes, blueberries, apples, cranberries, and squash are just some of the foods pollinated by the honeybee. Clover and alfalfa, used in animal feed, are also pollinated by the honeybee. Bees assist in the pollination of about eighty percent of the agricultural crops that require insect pollination. Farmers often rent bee colonies to pollinate vast acres of crops, and migratory beekeepers move around the United States to sell their pollination services during times of high demand.