scholarly journals Foraging of Honeybees (Apis mellifera) on Flowers of Yellow Melon (Cucumis melo): Duration of Visits

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Márcia F. Ribeiro ◽  
Eva M. S. Silva ◽  
Lúcia H. P. Kiill ◽  
Katia M. M. Siqueira ◽  
Mara P. Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Cucumis Melo ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Crop Area

Studying the pollinators’ foraging behaviour is quite important for pollination. Time spent by the pollinator in floral handling is one of the aspects of this behaviour. Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are the main responsible for the pollination of melon (Cucumis melo), but there are few studies on their foraging, mainly in the region of Petrolina, state of Pernambuco, and Juazeiro, state of Bahia, in Brazil. This study aimed to compare bee visitation to hermaphrodite (HF) and male (MF) flowers in a crop area where different number of hives were used. For each floral type, 10 flowers were observed, in each experiment (0, 1, 2 or 3 hives). The duration of bee visits (n = 10) was registered in three times of the day: 8 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4 p.m. In general, HF received significantly longer visits than MF, in all experiments, except when using one hive. In fact, significant correlations were found between the duration of visits and number of hives for HF, but not for MF. This is probably related to the attractiveness of HF and to the availability of floral resources. The studies of duration of pollinator’ visits are relevant in agriculture and should be considered when evaluating the efficiency of pollination in melon.

scholarly journals Resource Collection by Honeybees (Apis mellifera) on Yellow Melon (Cucumis melo) Flowers

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Márcia F. Ribeiro ◽  
Eva M. S. Silva ◽  
Lúcia H. P. Kiill ◽  
Katia M. M. Siqueira ◽  
Márcia S. Coelho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Cucumis Melo ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Flowering Period ◽  
Pollen Collection ◽  
Resource Collection ◽  
Male Flowers ◽  
Number Of Individuals

This study aimed to analyze the details of collection of floral resources (pollen and nectar) by honeybees (Apis mellifera) on male and hermaphrodite flowers of melon (Cucumis melo). The experiments were conducted in areas located at Embrapa Semiárido and Embrapa Produtos e Mercado, Petrolina, state of Pernambuco, in November and December 2011, with crop of a hybrid yellow 10/00 F1 melon. Honeybee colonies housed in Langstroth hives, uniform concerning the number of individuals and brood area were used. The four experimental areas (0.5 ha each), received respectively 0, 1, 2 and 3 hives, from the first day on which the hermaphrodite flowers appeared to the end of the flowering period of the melon crop. The results showed that the bees visited more the hermaphrodite than the male flowers, in order to collect the resources (pollen and nectar), in all areas where honeybee hives were placed. In general, independently from the number of hives, the resource most collected was nectar. Pollen collection occurred mainly at the first hours of the morning, while nectar was collected throughout the day.

scholarly journals Honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) visiting flowers of yellow melon ( Cucumis melo ) using different number of hives

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1768-1773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márcia de Fátima Ribeiro ◽  
Eva Mônica Sarmento da Silva ◽  
Ivan de Oliveira Lima Júnior ◽  
Lúcia Helena Piedade Kiill
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Cucumis Melo ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
The Other ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Improve Production ◽  
Ideal Number ◽  
The Ideal

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) pollinate melon (Cucumis melo) and improve production and quality of fruits. However, little is known about bee behavior and number of hives required. The aims of this study were to compare bees visiting flowers in crop areas with different number of hives (0, 1, 2, and 3), and to evaluate which is the best number. Flowers were observed (n=78) from 5 am to 6 pm, for five consecutive days, in four experimental areas (0.5ha each). Comparisons were made for male (MF) and hermaphrodite (HF) flowers, number of hives and fruit production. The HF were always more visited than MF. Most comparisons made for three hives presented significant differences, since visits increased drastically, competition among bees for floral resources became stronger and reduced the production of commercial fruit (93.4%). On the other hand, the highest percentage of commercial fruit was obtained (99%) with two hives, setting the ideal number of hives as four hives ha-1.

scholarly journals Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) as a potential Brassica napus pollinator (cv. Hyola 432) (Brassicaceae), in Southern Brazil

2010 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 1075-1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
AS. Rosa ◽  
B. Blochtein ◽  
NR. Ferreira ◽  
S. Witter
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Brassica Napus ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Pollen Load ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Floral Constancy ◽  
Food Shortages ◽  
Bee Foraging ◽  
Winter Crop

Brassica napus Linnaeus is considered a self-compatible crop; however, studies show that bee foraging elevates their seed production. Considering bee food shortages during the winter season and that the canola is a winter crop, this study aimed to evaluate the foraging behaviour of Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 regarding those flowers, and to verify if it presents adequate behaviour for successfully pollinating this crop in Rio Grande do Sul State. The study was carried out in a canola field, in Southern Brazil. The anthesis stages were morphologically characterised and then related to stigma receptivity and pollen grain viability. Similarly, the behaviour of A. mellifera individuals on flowers was followed, considering the number of flowers visited per plant, the amount of time spent on the flowers, touched structures, and collected resources. Floral fidelity was inferred by analysing the pollen load of bees collected on flowers. The bees visited from 1-7 flowers/plant (x = 2.02; sd = 1.16), the time spent on the flowers varied between 1-43 seconds (x = 3.29; sd = 2.36) and, when seeking nectar and pollen, they invariably touched anthers and stigmas. The pollen load presented 100% of B. napus pollen. The bees' attendance to a small number of flowers/plants, their short permanence on flowers, their contact with anthers and stigma and the integral floral constancy allows their consideration as potential B. napus pollinators.

scholarly journals Especies de plantas visitadas por abejas pecoreadoras durante la inducción de polinización en melón.

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Reyes-Carrillo ◽  
Frank A. Eischen ◽  
Pedro Cano-Rios ◽  
Rafael Rodríguez-Martínez ◽  
Urbano Nava-Camberos
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Medicago Sativa ◽  
Cucumis Sativus ◽  
Cucumis Melo ◽  
Larrea Tridentata ◽  
Prosopis Juliflora ◽  
Sorghum Vulgare ◽  
Cucumis Sativus L ◽  
Medicago Sativa L ◽  
Cucumis Melo L

El objetivo de la investigación fue determinar, a través de la identificación del polen corbicular, las diferentes especies de plantas que son visitadas por las abejas (Apis mellifera L.) durante la polinización inducida del melón (Cucumis melo L.). El trabajo se llevó a cabo en La Laguna ocalizada en los estados de Coahuila y Durango, México en la primavera del 2003. Durante los primeros 31 días de la floración del melón, un campo de seis hectáreas fue polinizada por 18 colmenas, nueve de las cuales tenía una trampa para captura de polen. El polen fue colectado dos veces por semana, pesado y congelado. Durante el año se colectaron anteras de plantas silvestres y cultivadas en floración alrededor del cultivo y en la región para preservarlas e identificar su polen usando la técnica de acetolisis. El polen corbicular, muestreado los días 5°, 9°, 12°, 20°, 24° y 31° contados a partir del inicio de la aparición de las flores estaminadas, fue procesado y contado en el microscopio óptico. El tamaño del polen fue calculado mediante la fórmula: volumen V=πa2b donde “a” es el eje mayor y “b” el eje menor y multiplicado por el número de granos de polen se obtuvo el volumen total. El polen de melón fue el 8.7 %, 9.8%, 17.6 %, 9.3 %, 28.1% y 83.5% del colectado (en base al número de granos) respectivamente en las fechas de muestreo. El porcentaje del polen de melón en base al volumen fue: 51.6%, 85.0%, 66.6 %, 84.4 %, 68.9% y 95.0% respectivamente. Se concluye que el melón fue la principal planta visitada por las abejas como fuente de polen y que las especies de plantas con mayor número de granos de polen presentes en las muestras como mezquite (Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), gobernadora (Larrea tridentata (DC) Cov.), pepino (Cucumis sativus L.), mostacilla (Sysimbrium irio L.) y sorgo (Sorghum vulgare L.) fueron especies visitadas como fuentes suplementarias de polen.

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