Comparative foraging behavior of eastern honeybee, (Apis cerana F) and western honeybee, (Apis mellifera carnica) in pollinating pear and apricot flowers in Taleghan, Iran
Journal Title: Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES) - Year 2015, Vol 7, Issue 2
Abstract
The Eastern honeybee, (Apis cerana), is indigenous to Asia and is an important pollinator for Asian ecosystems; the Western honeybee, (Apis mellifera), has been introduced to Asia because of its high honey yields. European honeybee, (Apis mellifera carnica) is native to the Iranian continent and is adopting apiaries by the beekeepers in Iran. The results shown that for times of initiation; cessation and duration of foraging activity, duration of foraging trip; and weights of pollen loads, differences between the two honeybee species are significant (P<0.01). The total duration of foraging activity of (Apis cerana F) worker bees is significantly more than those of (Apis mellifera carnica). Apis ceranais a better pollinator than (Apis mellifera carnica) of pear and apricot. For (Apis cerana F), pollen collectors outnumbered nectar collectors throughout the day on both pear and apricot, whereas for (Apis mellifera carnica) pollen collectors outnumbered nectar collectors in the morning and in the afternoon nectar collectors outnumbered pollen collectors on both pear and apricot. (P:N) ratio was significantly higher for (Apis cerana F) throughout the day than (Apis mellifera carnica). Therefore, Apis cerana could strongly influence plant pollination in study area. Results obtained from foraging behavior indicate the top talent of this species for rearing compared with (Apis mellifera carnica) species in this context. Also pear and apricot are among plants that well pollinate with these bees. Thus, we propose that (Apis cerana F) can contribute to the colony pollination service and could be used in apiaries in Taleghan region.
Authors and Affiliations
Shakib Vaziritabar, Sirus Oshidari, Sayed Mehdi Esmaeilzade
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP38585
- DOI -
- Views 141
- Downloads 0
Analysis on fishing fisheries resources management sustainability of oxbow barito mati lake, south barito regency, central kalimantan province, Indonesia
Oxbow Barito Mati Lake in South Barito is important not only from economic aspect, but hydrological and ecological aspects as well. Lake and its flooding areas directly connecting to Barito River is an important area fo...
Describing body shape variation of bugwan fish (Hypseleotris agilis) species using land mark-based geometric morphometric in Lake Mainit, Surigao del Norte, Philippines
The study primarily aimed to determine the body shape variation of Hypseleotris agilis using Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA) in relation to their existing population in Lake Mainit, Surigao del Norte, Philippines. The researc...
Identification of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted from three European orchid species with different pollination strategies: two deceptive orchids (Himantoglossum robertianum and Ophrys apifera) and a rewarding orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea)
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) emission was evaluated in the inflorescences of three species of the family Orchidaceae: Himantoglossum robertianum, Ophrys apifera and Gymnadenia conopsea, that comprise three different...
Determining frequency of ionic, type, faciesand water contaminants of Karoon river
The changes in river ecosystem and fading away the species of organisms lead to risk of dearth of high quality water resources and to harmful impacts resulting from using contaminant waters on human beings. In order tha...
Tourists and their role in microclimatic changes inside the caves case study: Ali Sadr Cave (Hamedan, Iran)
In the present paper we have attempted to divide Ali-Sadr Cave into two experimental areas (the place of tourists’ traffic) and the control area (the newly discovered area and corridors) to calculate and analyze daily a...