Abstract
Carthamus tinctorius L. (Safflower) has been cultivated especially for its seed. Pollination success of safflower can affect the seed yield and pollination rates can be influenced by temperature, humidity and pollinating insect abundance. Within this context, foraging activities of commercial Bombus terrestris L. and Apis mellifera L. colonies were investigated on four different cultivars (Balci, Dincer, Linans and Remzibey-05) of safflower. The visitation rates and the abundance of the bees, evaluated with the temperature and relative humidity. Three 90 m² fields were prepared and every field was divided into four parcels. Before the blooming period of the plant starts, the fields were caged with teflon net. In the first and second cages, there was only one commercial B. terrestris and A. mellifera colony respectively. In the third cage there were both B. terrestris and A. mellifera colonies. The highest numbers of bees recorded at about 09:00 a.m. and it was found that the abundance of the bees decreased dramatically after this peak. The competition between two managed bees caused declines in the visitation rates of both species. Among the four cultivars, Dincer was the most preferred one while Linans was the least
Highlights
Carthamus tinctorius L. or safflower is an annual or biennial herbal plant in the family of Asteraceae and represented by 16 species in the world [1]
Pollination success of safflower can affect the seed yield and pollination rates can be influenced by temperature, humidity and pollinating insect abundance
Within this context, foraging activities of commercial Bombus terrestris L. and Apis mellifera L. colonies were investigated on four different cultivars (Balcı, Dincer, Linans and Remzibey-05) of safflower
Summary
Carthamus tinctorius L. or safflower is an annual or biennial herbal plant in the family of Asteraceae and represented by 16 species in the world [1]. C. tinctorius is the only cultivated taxon [2]. Key word and phrases: Apis mellifera , Bombus terrestris, foraging activity, Carthamus tinctorius. Insect pollination is essential for crop production by enabling or increasing seed and fruit set in many crops [11]. Honeybees and bumblebees are the majority of insect visitors of cultivated entomophilus plants [20, 21]. Given the evidence that pollination by bees increases safflower yield and has a positive effect in seed production, it is essential to understand how commercial Bombus terrrestris and Apis mellifera are performing in terms of bee species-specific foraging behavior and pollination efficiency. We investigate daily foraging performance of managed honeybees and bumblebees on four different cultivars of safflower in caged conditions
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