Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is an important spice crop which is grown on 90 000 ha in the Western Ghats region of S.India. Preliminary experiments to determine the role of insect pollinators were conducted on the Malabar and Managirabad varieties in 1977. The flowers, which started to open from 05.00 to 05.30 h were visited mainly by Apis cerana, though A.dorsata, A.florea, Trigona and a few solitary bees also visited them. The peak bee activity was from about 08.00 to 11.00 h. A.cerana collected pollen in the morning and nectar afterwards, while A.dorsata concentrated on nectar collection throughout the day. Yields on Malabar and Managirabad plants open to pollinators were, respectively, 37.2% and 21.9% higher than plants caged to exclude insects. Some problems related to bee pollination of cardamom e.g. heavy rainfall and insecticidal sprays, are discussed.newline˜Author.