Non-Apis bee diversity in an experimental pollinator garden in Bengaluru – a Silicon Valley of India

Timalapur Maharudrappa Shivalingaswamy,Raghavendra Anjanappa,Ankita Gupta,Amala Udayakumar

doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v67i4.5023

Timalapur Maharudrappa Shivalingaswamy, Raghavendra Anjanappa + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v67i4.5023

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Abstract

Necessity of pollinators in ecosystem services and their decline has raised concern for their conservation both in farm lands and urban areas. With the aim of conservation of these pollinators, we initiated developing a pollinator garden at Yelahanka Campus of ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources in an area of one acre by planting over 50 diverse plant species. Thirty-nine different species of bees were documented from the flora of the pollinator garden. Out of the thirty-nine species of bees, nineteen species of bees belong to non-apis families viz., Megachilidae and Halictidae. Apart from foraging on the flowers, the solitary bees like Megachile sp. were found nesting in the stems, fallen dried flowers in the pollinator garden. The bees were found year-round foraging upon the flora in the pollinator garden. Pollinator garden is a way to in-situ conserve the native bees to sustain the valuable pollination service in various crop plants provided by them.

Highlights

Pollinator insects in agricultural landscapes are dwindling over the years due to the use of agrochemicals, diseases, land fragmentation and rapid urbanization (Biesmeijer et al, 2006; Potts et al, 2010)
The easiest and feasible way for conservation of these pollinators could be the maintenance of flora attractive to pollinators such as small patches of pollinator gardens in urban and farmlands, which support them with food and shelter over time
We studied forty-six species of plants in the established pollinator gardens

Summary

Introduction

Pollinator insects in agricultural landscapes are dwindling over the years due to the use of agrochemicals, diseases, land fragmentation and rapid urbanization (Biesmeijer et al, 2006; Potts et al, 2010). We studied forty-six species of plants in the established pollinator gardens. The plant species were ranked into different categories based on the number of bee species attracted (Table 1, Fig 2) The reward (nectar or pollen) and other nest building materials collected by each species of the bees were recorded.

Results

Conclusion