Survey of bee friendly flowering plants and bee-plant interaction in an urban green space in Bengaluru, India

Abstract

Aim: To study bee friendly plant species, nutritional sources, flowering season, and the dynamic relationship between urban flora and native bee species in a centrally located urban green space in Bengaluru, India. Methodology: Flowers of different plant species visited by bees were observed and recorded from September 2018 to August 2019. Based on the foraging pattern of visiting bees, the plants were classified into nectar or pollen or both nectar and pollen species. The monthly abundance of nutritional resources was estimated based on the floral phenology. Results: A total of 51 plant species, from 25 families, were visited by bees for foraging. Polylectic social bees namely Apis florea and Tetragonula iridipennis, visited 45 and 39 plant species, and two species of solitary bees, namely Amigella cingulate and Xylocopa violacea, visited 26 and 23 plant species, respectively. The urban green landscape was dominated by a variety of ornamental plants (49%) and also included vegetables (17.6%), fruit trees (13.7%), and weeds (19.6%). Plants that served as a source of both nectar and pollen (60.8%) were predominant over those that supplied either nectar alone (24.5%) or pollen alone (13.7%). Moreover, 72% of the species bloomed all the year round, which meant that floral resources were available to bees throughout the year. Interpretation: The study underscores the role of bee friendly floral diversity in the urban green spaces in protection and conservation of bee diversity. Efficient management of urban green spaces can provide dynamic habitat for bee conservation and can prevent the loss of biodiversity.