The vanilla plant comes from Mexico. In Mexico there are little stingless Melipona bees that pollinate the plant. The vines have been moved to Madagascar and Indonesia, where they grow well, but have no suitable pollinators, so people pollinate them by hand. The plants are very delicate and fussy, so this is insanely labor intensive Why doesn't anyone just keep Mexican bees in their orchards to pollinate their Mexican vines?
The bees have been kept in the past, and some people still do. But Melipona are sensitive to pesticides, and Mexican vanilla plantations have to hand pollinate after years of pesticide use.
Orchid greenhouse is huge effort and successful ones are worth visiting. One near Joshua Tree in CA Mojave desert is amazing for being so improbably placed. Adding a Melipona 'log' seems feasible but it seems like a question for greenies who have tried and failed or succeeded.
