Pollination is an essential ecosystem service, and bees are critical to the rich diversity of fruits, vegetables, and nuts we eat. Close to 75% of all flowering plants on Earth rely to some degree on pollinators in order to set seed or fruit. Pollinators are required for producing 15 to 30% of the human food supply, and farmers throughout the world rely on managed honey bees to provide these services (Greenleaf and Kremen 2006). The value of the European honey bee, Apis mellifera L., to pollination services is estimated at $217 billion globally and $20 billion in the United States annually (Frankie et al. 2014). In California alone, about one-third of agricultural revenue comes from pollinator-dependent crops.

This PDF offers a mini tutorial on the need and process of urban bee keeping for the beginner