Identification of Honey Bee Floras and Their Flowering Times in Wondo Genet, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The present study focused on identification of honey bee floras and their flowering times in Wondo Genet, Southern Ethiopia. Purposive sampling technique and combination of Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) tools were employed to identify the major and minor honey bee floras, and their flowering times. The data were collected from 36 sampled bee keepers in four peasant associations. Descriptive statistics and other statistical parameters were used in organizing, summarizing and describing the data. The average number of traditional, transitional and moveable frame beehives was 10.51±3.80, 2.88±1.85, and 1.12±1.21, respectively. The average honey yield per harvest/colony was 5.1±0.72, 13.20 ±0.92 and 17.2±0.73 kg for traditional, transitional and moveable frame hives, respectively. Hence, there was a highly significant difference (p<0.05) in terms of yield per hive/harvest between the three types of hives. A total of 47 bee flora species belonging to 42 genera and 30 families were identified by the sample respondents. The plant species were comprised of trees (48.94%), shrubs (27.66%), fruit trees (10.64%), herbs (6.38%) and food crops (6.39%). Of the total number of bee flora plants identified in the study area, 17 (36.17%) were major honey bee flora where as 30 (63.83%) were the minor ones. The major parameters that the beekeepers used in identification of bee floras were flowers visited by honey bees. The beekeepers expressed that the frequency and number of bees visiting the flowers can help them to identify as the major and minor honey bee floras. The identified plant species bear flowers mainly from September to November and in March. The current investigation revealed that there are various plant species in the study area with different flowering times, and this will provide basic information for further researches focused on bee flora and their conservation strategies. Keywords : bee flora, flowering time, honey bee, species DOI : 10.7176/JRDM/59-01 Publication date :September 30 th 2019