Nesting sites of cavity nesting honey bees (Apis spp.) in natural ecosystems of Kerala, India

Abstract

Natural colonies of cavity nesting honey bees are important for the conservation of bees. This study was aimed to determine the nesting habitat, nesting sites, nest height, and nest characteristics of naturally occurring cavity nesting honey bees in Kerala. The results showed that primary forests, disturbed or agricultural land as well as undisturbed lands were found to be the nesting habits of cavity nesting bees in Kerala. Among the nesting sites, tree hollows were the prevalent nesting sites of cavity nesting bees in Kerala wherein, the predominant tree species was Tectona grandis. The nest height of honey bee colonies from ground level varied from 0 cm to 600 cm and the number of combs in a colony varied from five to twelve. No significant differences were observed in the nest height and number of combs in the honey bee colonies in hill and plain regions of Kerala. Biserial correlation analysis revealed that in the plain regions, the proportion of parallel arrangement of combs to the direction of nest entrance was high (0.83) whereas in hilly regions the proportion of comb arrangement at right angles to the nest entrance was high (0.88).