Biological Resources of Entomophilous Plants and Melliferous Bees in Russia

Abstract

Vladimir Kulakov, Anna Brandorf

The paper examines the volume of biological resources of beekeeping, the possibility and feasibility of developing beekeeping in Russia on the basis of the available melliferous resources. An assessment of the economic effect of trophic connections between melliferous bees and entomophilous plants is provided. Beekeeping is an important branch of agriculture since pollination of entomophilous plants with the help of bees is a natural and most effective agricultural technique, which leads to a significant increase in the volume and quality of the yield of entomophilous plants. The development of beekeeping on a national scale is possible only with serious state support. For such participation of the state, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the state of the industry, biological resources of beekeeping and the development prospects. In this regard, it becomes necessary to analyse the fodder base of beekeeping in the Russian Federation, to determine the potential reserves of honey and the prospects for the development of beekeeping in the Russian Federation. The volume and structure of honey resources are given, potential honey reserves, the number of bee colonies that can be kept on the basis of the available melliferous resources in Russia are provided. The melliferous resources of entomophilous plants in Russia make it possible to increase the number of bee colonies and the volume of commercial honey production by 8-9-fold, that is, to productively contain from 26 to 30 million bee colonies and produce from 386 to 452 thousand tones of commercial honey annually, which can satisfy scientifically supported honey consumption norms on a national scale. In conclusion, an assessment of the economic effect of trophic connections between honey bees and entomophilous plants is given. It is shown that with proper pollination of entomophilous cultivated and wild plants in Russia, the total economic benefit will equate to an impressive amount: about 1 trillion rubbles annually, which is equivalent to 15 billion US dollars.