Pollen Spectrum and Foraging Plants for the Red Dwarf Bee in Jordan

Salah Rateb,N Haddad,M Hussein

doi:10.21608/eajbsa.2020.131684

Salah Rateb, N Haddad + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.21608/eajbsa.2020.131684

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Abstract

Pollen spectrum of honey, and pollen content of the honey sac of the red dwarf honeybee (Apis florea F.), which was discovered recently in Jordan, were studied. Pollen diversity and pollen density in these samples, which were collected from two sites in Jordan, were investigated. A total of 4399 pollen grains were counted and classified in the honey of A. florea. 2667 pollen grains, or 60.63% of total pollen, were obtained from Centaurea hylolepis Bioss., which is considered to be the Dominant Pollen (DP), and the studied honey was monofloral. About 1541 pollen grains, or 35.03% of the total, were collected from Family Caryophyllacea and considered to be a Secondary Pollen (SP) source. Cardania draba (L.) was considered a Minor Pollen (MP) source with 2.07% abundance, followed by Ecualyptus sp. (0.68%); Acacia cyanophylla Lindl. (0.59%); Leopoldia desirticola (Rech.f.) Feinbrun (0.48%); Salvia lonigera Poir. (0.39%); and Sambucus racemosa L. (0.14%). The plant diversity or number of plant species foraged by small bees was eight. While the plant diversity in honey sac content of the small bee from another site, El-Akaba, was nine. Centaurea sp., Echinops sp. and Erodium sp. were considered as Secondary Pollen (SP) sources, with percent abundances of 33.99, 23.60% and 16.23%, respectively. The following Important Minor Pollen sources (IMP) and their (abundance %) and classification were as follows: Asphodelus sp. (6.96%); Phoenix sp. (5.94%); and Rubus sp. (5.66%). Minor Pollen (MP) sources were: Diplotaxis sp. (1.6%); Ecobllium sp. (1.16%) and Sencio sp. (0.16%).

Highlights

There are four species of honey bees in the world
The total number of pollen grains in ten microscopic fields from prepared slides of pollens from the Red dwarf honeybee samples from Jordan was 4399 pollen grain, from which 2667 pollen grains were obtained from Centaurea hylolepis Boiss
Asteraceae), with pollen density of 266.7 pollen grain/field, or 60.63% of all counted pollen. It means that Centaurea is a Dominant Pollen (DP), and this honey sample is unifloral or monofloral honey (Table 1 and Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

There are four species of honey bees in the world. Only one species (Apis mellifera L) is reared commercially in most countries. Pollen content of the honey sac of the red dwarf honeybee (Apis florea F.), which was discovered recently in Jordan, were studied. About 1541 pollen grains, or 35.03% of the total, were collected from Family Caryophyllacea and considered to be a Secondary Pollen (SP) source.

Results

Conclusion