Defensive behaviour of Apis cerana himalaya and predatory wasp at MID-HILLS of Meghalaya Pande Rachna4,*, Patra Sandip1, Hazarika Samarendra2, Ramkrushna G.I.3 1Division of Crop Protection, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, 793103 2Division of Natural Resource Management, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, 793103 3Division of Crop Production, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, 793103 4Present address: Division of Crop Protection, ICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur, 440010 *Email: rachna.ento@gmail.com (corresponding author)
Abstract Prey predator interaction was investigated between native bees of Meghalaya, the Apis cerana himalaya and predatory wasp. The study was aimed to know the capability of native bees against the predatory wasps and the mechanism involved under natural condition. The study analyzed the response of honey bees and wasp towards each other. Attack of wasp significantly reduced the number of foragers during peak dearth period. The main defensive behaviour exhibited by honey bees was balling reaction. Number of dead wasp was more when intensity of attack increased, as honey bees killed maximum of 13 wasps by losing only 0.67 bees during 3rd week of August. The thermal lethal limit of both prey and predator was different which reflects the safety factor in heat ball reaction for honey bees. The overall results showed that the native bee has well organized defense system against the predatory wasp. Top Keywords Apis cerana himalaya, balling, dearth period, defensive behaviour, foragers, Meghalaya, predatory wasps, safety factor, thermal lethal limit. Top |