National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)
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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
The present study was conducted to evaluate the abundance and foraging behaviour of major bee pollinators on mustard (Brassica juncea L.). Five bee species, namely Tetragonula iridipennis, Apis florea, Apis mellifera, Apis cerana indica and Apis dorsata, were monitored during different hours of the day. Bee activity was assessed in terms of abundance, foraging rate and foraging speed at 08:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 18:00 h. The results revealed marked differences in abundance and foraging activity among the bee species and observation hours. T. iridipennis recorded the highest overall mean abundance (21.07 bees/m²/5 min), followed by A. florea (17.05), A. mellifera (14.26), A. cerana indica (13.24) and A. dorsata (11.64 bees/m²/5 min). Overall bee abundance was highest at 12:00 h (25.43 bees/m²/5 min), followed by 14:00 h (23.57 bees/m²/5 min). In terms of foraging rate, A. mellifera recorded the highest overall mean (14.60 visits/min), followed by A. cerana indica (11.64), A. dorsata (9.76), A. florea (7.40) and T. iridipennis (4.43 visits/min). The overall foraging rate was highest at 12:00 h (15.51 visits/min). Foraging speed, expressed as time spent per flower, varied considerably among species, with A. mellifera recording the shortest duration (3.57 s/flower), indicating the fastest flower handling, whereas T. iridipennis required the longest duration (15.71 s/flower). The minimum mean flower-handling time was observed at 12:00 h (6.53 s/flower), indicating greater foraging efficiency around midday. The study demonstrated distinct species-specific differences in bee abundance and foraging behaviour, with midday representing the period of peak pollinator activity on mustard flowers.
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