Differential Foraging of Indigenous and Exotic Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) Races on Nectar-Rich Flow in a Subtropical Ecosystem.

Abdulaziz S Alqarni

doi:10.3390/insects11040254

Abstract

In the subtropics, agricultural activities such as beekeeping are greatly influenced by environmental challenges. In the desert of Central Arabia, honeybees forage on limited prairies that are affected by adverse weather conditions. Bee colonies reduce their field activities during extremely hot-dry-windy weather. This study investigated whether nectar-rich melliferous flora enhance the field activities of two honeybee subspecies, Apis mellifera jemenitica (indigenous) and A. m. carnica (exotic), despite the presence of severe weather conditions. The foraging and pollen-gathering activities of the two subspecies were evaluated on Acacia trees (Acacia gerrardii Benth.), a common subtropical, summery endemic bee plant, in the central desert of the Arabian Peninsula. The native colonies were significantly (p < 0.001) more active foragers than the exotic colonies (109 ± 4 and 49 ± 2 workers/colony/3 min, respectively). Similarly, the native colonies recruited significantly (p ˂ 0.01) more active pollen-gathering bees than the imported colonies (22 ± 1 and 7 ± 1 workers/colony/3 min, respectively). Furthermore, far more food was collected by the indigenous colonies than by the exotic colonies, and a higher portion of all field trips was allocated to pollen gathering by the indigenous bees than by the imported bees. The nectar-rich Acacia trees reduced the negative effects of hot-dry-windy weather. More research on honeybee colonies operating in the subtropical conditions of Central Arabia is needed, especially regarding heat tolerance mechanisms and effects on queen and drone fertility.

Highlights

Subtropical regions are usually situated between latitudes of 20 and 40 degrees in both hemispheres, where most of the rising economies are found
The foraging and pollen-gathering activities of honeybee colonies are governed by many ambient environmental conditions [2,3,4], including forage [5,6], temperature [7,8,9,10,11], relative humidity [12] and wind speed [13]
Temp values were above 40 ◦ C for more than 45% of the diurnal period during the Acacia flow season

Summary

Introduction

Subtropical regions are usually situated between latitudes of 20 and 40 degrees in both hemispheres, where most of the rising economies are found. Productive beekeeping may serve as a reliable indicator of economic biodiversity and viable ecosystems [1]. Beekeepers are challenged to find fruitful resources of nectar and pollen for their bee colonies. The foraging and pollen-gathering activities of honeybee colonies are governed by many ambient environmental conditions [2,3,4], including forage [5,6], temperature [7,8,9,10,11], relative humidity [12] and wind speed [13]. The honeybee genotype greatly influences foraging activities [14,15]. The rates of foraging and pollen gathering reflect the performance and productivity of honeybee colonies under certain circumstances [3]

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Conclusion