The Vital Role of Insect Pollination in Fruit Production

Insect pollination is fundamental to the production of many of the fruits we consume daily. Crops like apples, berries, and almonds rely heavily on bees and other insects to transfer pollen between flowers, enabling fertilization. Without these pollinators, fruit yields can decline significantly, and in some instances, crops may fail entirely. This underscores why insect pollination, bee pollination, and pollinator-dependent crops are central to discussions about agriculture and food security.

How Insect Pollination Works

Insect pollination occurs when insects move pollen from the male part of a flower (the anther) to the female part (the stigma). This transfer fertilizes the ovules within the flower, which subsequently develop into seeds, and fruit. Cross-pollination, facilitated by insects, often leads to improved fruit characteristics.

For example, strawberries require approximately 21 pollination visits per fruit for full development, with more seeds generally resulting in larger and sweeter berries.¹ This process highlights the essential role of bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects in agricultural crop production.

Fruit Dependence on Insect Pollination

Here’s a gaze at the pollination requirements for several common fruits:

• Apples: Honeybees and other bees; cross-pollination through multiple bee visits is high and required for proper fruit development.
• Peaches: Bees; bee transfer of pollen between flowers is high and improves fertilization and fruit yield.
• Cherries: Bees; cross-pollination by visiting bees is high and needed for commercial crop production.
• Plums: Bees; pollen transfer between flowers is high, ensuring full fertilization.
• Blueberries: Bumblebees; “buzz pollination” releases pollen from flowers, and insects perform about 91% of the pollination.
• Raspberries: Bees; repeated bee visits are needed for pollen transfer and proper fruit formation.
• Strawberries: Bees; multiple pollination visits per fruit are required, around 21 visits for full development.
• Almonds: Honeybees; almond crops are 100% dependent on bee-mediated pollination between blossoms.
• Figs: Fig wasps; complete dependency on specific wasp species for symbiotic pollination within the fruit structure.

Fruits That Depend Heavily on Bee Pollination

Many widely grown fruits depend on bees for effective pollination. Apples and stone fruits (peaches, cherries, and plums) require multiple bee visits to fully fertilize their flowers. Without insect pollination, cross-pollination is significantly impaired at a commercial farming scale, impacting fruit production.

Berries, including blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries, also strongly rely on pollinators. Bumblebees utilize a unique technique called “buzz pollination,” vibrating flowers to release pollen. In blueberries, insects account for approximately 91% of the pollination process.¹

Almond crops are entirely reliant on honeybees. A lack of bee pollination can drastically reduce almond yields, potentially causing more damage than shortages of water or fertilizer.¹

Unique Pollination Relationships

Some crops have highly specialized pollination relationships. Figs, for example, depend on a specific type of wasp for pollination. The wasp lays its eggs inside the fig, simultaneously pollinating the flowers within the fruit.

Squash plants rely on ground-nesting bees that are active early in the morning when the flowers open. These examples demonstrate the intricate connections between crops and insect pollinators, emphasizing the importance of pollinator protection for both agriculture and the food supply.

¹ SARE. “Pollination Costs and Benefits: Almonds.” Accessed March 10, 2026. https://www.sare.org/publications/managing-alternative-pollinators/chapter-one-the-business-of-pollination/pollination-costs-and-benefits-almonds/