Of an estimated 5-10 million species of insects, probably not more than a fraction of 1 per cent interact, directly or indirectly, with humans. Insects have been associated with man’s interests in many ways. Their ability to both benefit and harm mankind makes this relationship a unique one.
They play a silent role in maintaining the balance of nature; some feed on other plants and animals, and some are eaten by others. Many of them are scavengers and convert the dead plant and animal tissues into humus and enrich the soil. Many species of insects live both as parasitoids and predators on insect pests of crops and help in suppressing their numbers.
They also play an important role in the pollination of various crops and thus increasing their yield. Some of them produce materials useful to man, i.e., silk, honey, wax, lac, etc. They also serve a useful purpose in being aesthetically beautiful and attractive. However, insects are also powerful competitors of man as they cause injury to crops and animals, and also act as vectors of many diseases.
1. Honey Bees:
There are about 20,000 kinds of bees, all belonging to the insect order Hymenoptera. Of them, three families of social bees, i.e. Bombidae, Meliponidae and Apidae, are honeys producing. Among these, Apidae is the main honey producing family. All the four species of honey bees, viz. Apis carnna Fabricius, Apis dorsata Fabricius, Apis florea Fabricius and Apis mellifera Linnaeus are found in India. Of these, the first three are indigenous, and the last has been introduced and acclimatized in India for the last about 50 years.
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