Diversity and Abundance of Insect Pollinators of Cucurbits at Mid-Hills of Meghalaya, India

Abstract

The current research was carried out at the ICAR-Research Complex for the North Eastern Hill Region (NEH) in Umiam, Meghalaya to investigate the diversity and abundance of insect pollinators of cucurbits at mid-hills of Meghalaya. Ridge gourd, sponge guard, pumpkin, teasel gourd, chow-chow, bottle guard and cucumber were taken as a target crop to observe the data on diversity and abundance. Total twenty-five (25) pollinators were observed in different cucurbits belongs to order Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera which represents that mid-hills of Meghalaya have rich pollinator fauna. Out of 25 insect pollinators 3 pollinators identified from ridge gourd, 6 from sponge gourd, 4 from pumpkin, 3 from bottle gourd, 4 from cucumber, 3 from chow-chow and 2 from teasel gourd. Efficient pollinator was nominated on the basis of their abundance. During investigation it was found that bumble bee emerged as the most abundant pollinator in ridge gourd, pumpkin and sponge gourd. In sponge gourd carpenter bee also showed almost equal abundance. Indian honey bee abundance was high in cucumber and in chow-chow. Among collected pollinators, hymenopterans were the abundant with 80% relative abundance. It is clear from the recorded observation that native bees are equally contributing in pollination service so conservation of these bees is also a demand of nature. Activity time period of pollinators on flowers guided the farmers to avoid pesticide spray during particular time period.