Study on the diversity of insect pollinators and their host plants in Chitradurga, Karnataka, India Nagarathna N., Haleshi C.1, Mahanthesha K., Sreenivasa G.* Department of Studies in Zoology, Davangere University, Davangere, Tholahunase-577 514, Karnataka, India 1Department of Studies in Botany, Davangere University, Davangere - 577 007, Karnataka, India *Corresponding authors' E-mail : sreenivasa.g47@gmail.com
Online published on 4 March, 2024. Abstract 39 species of pollinating insects belonging to 13 families and 6 orders were recorded in this study. Lepidopteron’s contributed the highest number of species as pollinators (58.9%), followed by Hymenoptera 28.2%, Coleoptera and Orthoptera contributed 5.1% respectively, while Hemiptera contributed 2.5 per cent. Furthermore, 89.5% of different bee species are major contributors to pollination among Hymenopterans. This study records, 41 species of host plants belong to 17 different families were found to be associated with the insect pollinators. Among them, 26.8% of species belong to the Asteraceae family followed by Lamiaceae and Euphorbiaceae which accounts for 7.31% respectively. Other families such as Rubiaceae, Meliaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Poaceae, Sapindaceae, Verbenaceae, Boraginaceae, and Elaeocarpaceae recorded 2.4% respectively. This preliminary study showed a good assemblage of insect pollinators in the study area. Top Keywords Biodiversity, Chitradurga, Insect pollinators. Top |