POLLEN GIVING PLANTS VISITED BY THE HONEY BEE (APIS MELLIFERA L.)
The analysis of the honey plants in the area of apiculture is very important about the development, reproduction and productivity of bee colonies. The knowledge of the floral specialization of Apis mellifera L. is main point for good beekeeping practices. The bees have visited 46 species of honey plants from 41 genera and 22 families. The honey bees prefer to collect pollen from 2 to 5-6 plant species during every single month. Bees mainly collect pollen from two or three plants every month. The agricultural species Brassica napus as well as the meadow flora – Сentaurea solstitialis and Centaurea cyanus are the most visited honey plants during their flowering. Bees prefer to collect pollen from 16 plants out of 46 visited taxons. Not all plants in the area serve as a source of pollen for the bees. The greatest amount of collected pollen comes from Brassica napus – 3798.69 g. The visited cultivated honey taxons are around 22 % but about 56.5 % of the total amount collected pollen. Around 78 % of the visited plants are common natural as well as about 43.5 % of the total amount collected pollen. Key words: honey bee, honey plants, pollen, pollen traps, melissopalynologia, specialization