Relative foraging intensity of various honey bee species on Brassica juncea (L.) czern & coss Kumari Suman, Chhuneja Pardeep K.*, Singh Jaspal, Choudhary Amit Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana - 141 004, Punjab *Corresponding author: pkchhuneja@pau.edu
Online published on 13 November, 2020. Abstract Foraging preference of various species of honey bees on Brassica juncea (var. RLC-1) blooms was recorded consecutively for two years at University Seed Farm, Ladhowal (Ludhiana, Punjab, India) during the blooming period i.e. January and February months. The mean foraging intensity of Apis cerana (2.7 bees/m2/min) was only marginally higher than the foraging intensity of Apis mellifera (2.6 bees/m2/min). Among the wild honey bees, Apis florea was not recorded on the crop, while the foraging intensity of Apis dorsata was comparatively lower (1.4 bees/m2/min). The maximum foraging intensity was recorded during the fourth week of initiation of flowering when the crop was in full bloom. Improvement in sunshine hours and the mean maximum temperature during this period also favoured the foraging intensity. Cool weather conditions affected the timings of initiation and cessation of foraging activity; the peak activity of all the recorded honey bees was registered at 1200 h, though the bee activity on the crop was recorded during 1000-1600h. Owing to the maximum honey bees’ intensity during noon, the chemical control of insect pests should not be executed during noon hours towards pollinators’ conservation and consequent yield enhancement. Top Keywords Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Apis mellifera, Brassica juncea, Foraging intensity. Top |