scholarly journals Determination of Nectar Resources through Body Surface Pollen Analysis: A Study with the Stingless Bee Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (Apidae: Meliponini) in West Bengal, India

Sociobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. e6173
Author(s):  
Sourabh Bisui ◽  
Ujjwal Layek ◽  
Prakash Karmakar
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Body Surface ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Tectona Grandis ◽  
Stingless Bee ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Surface Pollen ◽  
Pollen Types

Knowledge about floral resources is essential for bee management and conservation. Pollen analysis of honey is the most traditional method for determining the nectar resources of a bee species. However, the collection of honey samples is difficult in cavity-nesting natural stingless bee colonies. Furthermore, it is detrimental to the wild bee’s colony and may threaten their survivability. We analyzed adhered body surface pollen of incoming nectar foragers (which were smeared incidentally during nectar foraging) as an alternative method to determine nectariferous flora of Tetragonula iridipennis in West Bengal, India. By this method, we have identified 75 pollen types. The number of obtained pollen types was lower in the human-altered habitats of Midnapore city (44 pollen types) than the semi-natural habitats of Garhbeta (71 pollen types). Excluding a few pollen types of non-nectariferous plants, most of the pollen types came from nectariferous plants of both crop and non-crop species. Non-crop flowering plants (viz. Ailanthus excelsa, Borassus flabellifer, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Lannea coromandelica, Peltophorum pterocarpum, and Tectona grandis) provided a significant amount of nectar to the bee species and, therefore, play an important role in the conservation of the bee species.

scholarly journals Identity of mass-flowering crops moderates functional trait composition of pollinator communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Beyer ◽  
Felix Kirsch ◽  
Doreen Gabriel ◽  
Catrin Westphal
Keyword(s):  
Faba Bean ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Flower Morphology ◽  
Landscape Diversity ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Mass Flowering ◽  
Wild Bee

Abstract Context Pollinator declines and functional homogenization of farmland insect communities have been reported. Mass-flowering crops (MFC) can support pollinators by providing floral resources. Knowledge about how MFC with dissimilar flower morphology affect functional groups and functional trait compositions of wild bee communities is scarce. Objective We investigated how two morphologically different MFC, land cover and local flower cover of semi-natural habitats (SNH) and landscape diversity affect wild bees and their functional traits (body size, tongue length, sociality, foraging preferences). Methods We conducted landscape-level wild bee surveys in SNH of 30 paired study landscapes covering an oilseed rape (OSR) (Brassica napus L.) gradient. In 15 study landscapes faba beans (Vicia faba L.) were grown, paired with respective control landscapes without grain legumes. Results Faba bean cultivation promoted bumblebees (Bombus spp. Latreille), whereas non-Bombus densities were only driven by the local flower cover of SNH. High landscape diversity enhanced wild bee species richness. Faba bean cultivation enhanced the proportions of social wild bees, bees foraging on Fabaceae and slightly of long-tongued bumblebees. Solitary bee proportions increased with high covers of OSR. High local SNH flower covers mitigated changes of mean bee sizes caused by faba bean cultivation. Conclusions Our results show that MFC support specific functional bee groups adapted to their flower morphology and can alter pollinators` functional trait composition. We conclude that management practices need to target the cultivation of functionally diverse crops, combined with high local flower covers of diverse SNH to create heterogeneous landscapes, which sustain diverse pollinator communities.

Olivea tectonae. [Distribution map].

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South America ◽  
Central America ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Tectona Grandis ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
New Distribution

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Olivea tectonae (T.S. & K. Ramakrishnan) Mulder. Pucciniomycetes: Pucciniales: Chaconiaceae. Host: teak (Tectona grandis). Information is given on the geographical distribution in Asia (Bangladesh, China, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, India, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Indonesia, Java, Japan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam), North America (Mexico), Central America and Caribbean (Costa Rica, Cuba and Panama), South America (Brazil, Espirito Santo, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais and Ecuador) and Oceania (Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia).

scholarly journals Aphid Honeydew Enhances Parasitoid Longevity to the Same Extent as a High-Quality Floral Resource: Implications for Conservation Biological Control of the Wheat Stem Sawfly (Hymenoptera: Cephidae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 2022-2025
Author(s):  
Tatyana A Rand ◽  
Debra K Waters
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Parasitoid Wasp ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Cereal Aphid ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Wheat Stem Sawfly ◽  
Aphid Honeydew

Abstract Providing sugar resources for parasitoids is an important component of habitat management approaches to bolster biological control. We screened three flowering cover crop species, and one aphid species, for their potential to increase the longevity of the parasitoid wasp, Bracon cephi (Gahan) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an important biological control agent of the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae). We found that buckwheat and honeydew from the cereal aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), increased longevity of B. cephi females by over threefold, while longevity on sunflower and coriander was not significantly different from controls on wheat. The results suggest that incorporating buckwheat into cover crop mixes could enhance parasitoid performance. However, the finding that honeydew associated with a common aphid in wheat provides a suitable resource suggests that a better understanding of the varying quality, and spatial and temporal availability, of aphid honeydew will be a critical consideration in evaluating the potential benefits of managing floral resources for parasitoid conservation in this system.

scholarly journals Pollen analysis: state of the art

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 151-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon J. Ogden
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Data Bank ◽  
Sedimentation Rates ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Surface Pollen ◽  
Pollen Stratigraphy ◽  
Better Than

Although nearly 50 years have passed since P.B. Sears introduced pollen analysis to North America, it remains an occult art. Dramatic improvements in sampling and analytic techniques continue to be limited by intractable problems of differential production, dispersal, ballistics, sedimentation, and preservation. It is a basic tenet of pollen stratigraphy that the data set, consisting primarily of microfossils preserved in sediments, is better than anything we have yet been able to do with it. Basic agreement between late- and postglacial pollen records has been confirmed wherever the method has been applied. Quantitative sampling techniques, sample preparation, and analytic procedures, together with multiple radiocarbon dates, permits calculation of sedimentation rates and absolute pollen influx. Of approximately 300 sediment cores from northeastern North America, fewer than 30 have more than 3 radiocarbon determinations from which least squares power curve regressions can be reliably calculated in the determination of sedimentation rates. Analogy with modern environments represented by surface pollen spectra is limited by an insufficient number of samples of uniform quality to characterize a vegetational mosaic covering 40 degrees of latitude (40-80°N) and longitude (60-100°W). The present surface pollen data bank includes about 700 samples, unevenly spaced and of uneven quality, permitting a grid resolution of no better than 10,000 km2.

scholarly journals Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee,Lasioglossum malachurum(Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural Landscape

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Polidori ◽  
Alice Rubichi ◽  
Valeria Barbieri ◽  
Luca Trombino ◽  
Marta Donegana
Keyword(s):  
Floral Resources ◽  
Resource Utilisation ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
Load Variations ◽  
Mediterranean Landscape ◽  
Pollen Loads ◽  
Soil Hardness ◽  
Lasioglossum Malachurum ◽  
Pollen Types ◽  
Social Bee

In order to adopt correct conservation strike plans to maintain bee pollination activity it is necessary to know the species' resource utilisation and requirements. We investigated the floral resources and the nesting requirements of the eusocial beeLasioglossum malachurumKirby at various sites in a Mediterranean landscape. Analysis of bees' pollen loads showed that Compositae was the more exploited family, although interpopulations differences appeared in the pollen types used. From 5 to 7 pollen types were used by bees, but only as few as 1–1.9 per load. Variations of the pollen spectrum through the annual nesting cycle were conspicuous. At all sites, bees nested in horizontal ground areas with high soil hardness, low acidity, and rare superficial stones. On the other side, the exploited soil was variable in soil granulometry (although always high in % of silt or sand) and it was moderately variable in content of organic matter and highly variable in vegetation cover. Creation of ground patches with these characteristics in proximity of both cultivated and natural flowering fields may successfully promote colonization of new areas by this bee.

Nesting habitat and comb geometry of stingless bee Tetragonula bengalensis Cameron in west Bengal

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 445
Author(s):  
Gautam Kunal ◽  
Rakesh Das ◽  
Sneha Latha Nagulapalli ◽  
Amit Layek ◽  
Shantanu Jha
Keyword(s):  
West Bengal ◽  
Stingless Bee ◽  
Nesting Habitat

scholarly journals Pollen analysis in honey samples from the two main producing regions in the Brazilian northeast

2007 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geni da S. Sodré ◽  
Luís C. Marchini ◽  
Carlos A.L. de Carvalho ◽  
Augusta C. de C.C. Moreti
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
The State ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Pollen Type ◽  
Northeastern Region ◽  
Pollen Types ◽  
Abundant Supply ◽  
Brazilian Northeast

Knowledge about the botanical source of honey is very important for the beekeeper while it indicates adequate and abundant supply sources of nectar and pollen for the bees, thus contributing toward improved yield. The present study means to identify the pollen types occurring in 58 samples of honey produced in two states of the northeastern region of Brazil, Piauí (38 samples) and Ceará (20 samples), and to verify the potential of the honey plants during the months of February to August. The samples were obtained directly from beekeepers in each state and analyzed at the Apiculture Laboratory of the Entomology Section of Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", USP, Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The pollen analysis was performed using the acetolysis method. The samples were submitted to both a qualitative and a quantitative analysis. The dominant pollen in the State of Ceará is from Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia, M. verrucosa, Borreria verticillata, Serjania sp., and a Fabaceae pollen type, while in the State of Piauí it is from Piptadenia sp., M. caesalpiniaefolia, M. verrucosa, Croton urucurana and Tibouchina sp.

scholarly journals Genome features of common vetch (Vicia sativa) in natural habitats

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenta Shirasawa ◽  
Shunichi Kosugi ◽  
Kazuhiro Sasaki ◽  
Andrea Ghelfi ◽  
Koei Okazaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
De Novo ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Vicia Sativa ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Common Vetch ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
The Common

AbstractWild plants are often tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses in their natural environments, whereas domesticated plants such as crops frequently lack such resilience. This difference is thought to be due to the high levels of genome heterozygosity in wild plant populations and the low levels of heterozygosity in domesticated crop species. In this study, common vetch (Vicia sativa) was used as a model to examine this hypothesis. The common vetch genome (2n = 14) was estimated as 1.8 Gb in size. Genome sequencing produced a reference assembly that spanned 1.5 Gb, from which 31,146 genes were predicted. Using this sequence as a reference, 24,118 single nucleotide polymorphisms were discovered in 1,243 plants from 12 natural common vetch populations in Japan. Common vetch genomes exhibited high heterozygosity at the population level, with lower levels of heterozygosity observed at specific genome regions. Such patterns of heterozygosity are thought to be essential for adaptation to different environments. These findings suggest that high heterozygosity at the population level would be required for wild plants to survive under natural conditions while allowing important gene loci to be fixed to adapt the conditions. The resources generated in this study will provide insights into de novo domestication of wild plants and agricultural enhancement.HighlightSequence analysis of the common vetch (Vicia sativa) genome and SNP genotyping across natural populations revealed nucleotide diversity levels associated with native population environments.

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