Abstract
ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to determine the beekeeping potential of Croton heliotropiifolius Kunth (Euphorbiaceae) based on flowering strategy, floral characteristics, available floral resources, and the individuals frequencies and foraging activities of Apis mellifera L. on its flowers in Fazenda Ingazeira, Brazil. Each C. heliotropiifolius plant possessed inconspicuous diclinous flowers clustered into 560 ± 60 dense terminal inflorescences containing 59 ± 12 pistillate and 160 ± 26 staminate flowers. Although both types of flowers produced nectar (pistillate: 2.8 ± 0.8 μL ; staminate: 0.3 ± 0.06 μL ), A. mellifera workers mostly visited staminate flowers (98%) during the peak visitation period (08:00-11:00 h). Moreover, during the foraging period, each plant produced approximately 5.376 × 10 8 pollen grains, ensuring approximately 33 visitation cycles from a colony of A mellifera workers that picked up an average of 405 pollen grains per visit per flower. Further, C. heliotropiifolius showed an annual cornucopia flowering strategy with high flower production for five months, which is an important characteristic that ensures floral resource availability in the environment. These findings suggest that C. heliotropiifolius has a great potential for apiculture in this region.
Highlights
Members of Euphorbiaceae, an angiosperm family with 300 genera and more than 8,000 species, occur in tropical regions that harbor different types of habitats and vegetation (GBIF SECRETERIAT, 2019)
C. heliotropiifolius showed an annual cornucopia flowering strategy with high flower production for five months, which is an important characteristic that ensures floral resource availability in the environment. These findings suggest that C. heliotropiifolius has a great potential for apiculture in this region
A total of 66 genera and 973 species of this family have been documented in Brazil, and approximately 24% of these species are found in the Caatinga phytogeographical domain (SILVA et al, 2020)
Summary
Members of Euphorbiaceae, an angiosperm family with 300 genera and more than 8,000 species, occur in tropical regions that harbor different types of habitats and vegetation (GBIF SECRETERIAT, 2019). Among the 66 genera, Croton is the most abundant, with more than 300 species identified from different vegetation domains in the northeastern region of Brazil, where they occur in dry to humid regions and even on rocky outcrops (SILVA et al, 2010; CARUZO et al, 2020). The shrub species Croton heliotropiifolius Kunth, is widely distributed in the northeastern region and less frequently in the central-western and southeastern regions of Brazil (HURBATH; CARNEIRO-TORRES; ROQUE, 2016). Plants of this species are well-adapted to desert environments with high anthropization, forming dense populations (SILVA et al, 2010). The species is ecologically significant because it contributes to the reestablishment of the edaphic balance by supplying mineral nutrients and organic matter to the soil (GOREVITCH; SCHEINER; FOX, 2009; MORIMITSU; VERGENE; TOMAZ, 2014), as well as food resources for the fauna (BLUTHGEN, 2012)
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