Avaliação do padrão de visitação de Apis mellifera em três cultivares de meloeiro, em Petrolina-PE, Brasil

Abstract

RESUMO -Para o cultivo do meloeiro, a presença de abelhas no período de florescimento é fundamental para garantir a polinização e incrementar a produção de frutos. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho teve por finalidade verificar se há diferenças no comportamento de visitas e no recurso floral forrageado por Apis mellifera, em três cultivares de meloeiro. O trabalho foi desenvolvido no Campo Experimental da Embrapa Semiárido, em Petrolina-PE, com as cultivares do tipo amarelo (BRS Araguaia), pele-de-sapo (P-33) e cantaloupe (CAN-4), com observações da biologia floral, morfologia e comportamento de A. mellifera no período das 05h às 18h. O pico de visitação foi diferente, ocorrendo das 11h às 12h; 10h às 11h e das 15h às 16h para o tipo amarelo, cantaloupe e pele-de-sapo, respectivamente. Quanto ao recurso floral forrageado, a coleta de néctar foi constante ao longo do dia, enquanto a de pólen ocorreu principalmente no período da manhã. Quanto ao tipo floral, as flores hermafroditas receberam, de modo geral, mais visitas na cultivar do tipo amarelo e pele-de-sapo, sendo o inverso registrado para a do tipo cantaloupe. O maior número de visitas registrado nesse tipo floral pode ser atribuído às diferenças morfológicas, uma vez que suas flores são maiores e, portanto, poderiam ser mais atrativas. Termos para indexação: Cucumis melo L., BRS Araguaia, Pele-de-sapo, Cantaloupe ASSESSMENT OF VISITATION PATTERN OF Apis mellifera IN THREE TYPES OF MELON IN PETROLINA, PERNAMBUCO, BRAZILABSTRACT -For the cultivation of melons, the presence of bees in the flowering period is critical to ensure pollination and increase fruit production. In this sense, this paper aims to verify whether there are differences in behavior and in the floral visits by Apis mellifera foraged in three types of melon. The study was conducted at the Experimental Field of Embrapa Semiárido, Petrolina, PE, with yellow-type cultivars (Araguaia BRS), piel de sapo melon (P-33) and cantaloupe (CAN-4), with observations of floral biology, morphology and behavior of A. mellifera in the period from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00p.m. The visitation's peak was different, occurring from 11:00 to 12:00a.m., 10:00 to 11:00a.m. and 03:00 to 04:00p.m. for the yellow kind, cantaloupe and piel de sapo, respectively. As for the floral foraging, collecting nectar was constant throughout the day, while pollen occurred mainly in the morning. Regarding the type floral, hermaphrodite flowers were, in general, more visits in the cultivar type and piel de sapo, the inverse of the type registered for the cantaloupe. The greatest number of visits recorded in this floral type can be attributed to morphological differences, since its flowers are larger and therefore could be more attractive.

EVALUATION OF FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MELON HYBRIDS (Cucumis melo L.) IN POLLINATOR ATTRACTIVENESS

“…Analyzing the mean values of the times observed, for most hybrids, anthesis was registered after 6:00 a.m., in both floral types, with no difference for anthesis times between male and hermaphrodite flowers, agreeing with the literature (ABREU et al, 2008;KIILL et al, 2011). The opening of the flowers early in the morning is indicative of flowers pollinated by bees; this is regarded as a leading characteristic of the melittophily syndrome (RECH et al, 2014).…”

“…In a comparative analysis on melon hybrids in the region of Juazeiro (BA), Kiill et al (2011Kiill et al ( , 2012 claimed that the highest visitation observed to hermaphrodite flowers may be related to the attractiveness of the pollinator. also, the authors commented that the floral morphology may have influenced the visitation pattern of A. mellifera in studies conducted in intercropped crops.…”

Frequency and foraging behavior of Apis mellifera in two melon hybrids in Juazeiro, state of Bahia, Brazil

“…Comparing melon hybrids, it was found that flowers of Sancho were more attractive to A. mellifera, indicating that simultaneous cultivation of both hybrids could result in competition for pollinator attraction. However, with regard to the behavior of A. mellifera throughout the day, it was that for both hybrids, a lower number of visits occurred during the early morning, which was also observed by Kiill et al (2011Kiill et al ( , 2012, in the municipality of Petrolina, state of Pernambuco, Brazil in different cultivars of melon. However, the opposite was observed by Sousa (2008) and Sousa et al (2012) in studies with this cucurbit in the region of Acaraú, state of Ceará, Brazil.…”

“…(P-33) and Cantaloupe (Can-4) cultivars, Kiill et al (2011) found differences in relation to visitation peak of A. mellifera and the floral type visited, yet no differences were observed in relation to foraged resource by the bees. The present study was, therefore, carried out to verify if there are differences in the frequency and foraging behavior of the floral visitors in the melon hybrids (10:00 -'Yellow-melon' and Sancho 'Piel de Sapo') of a commercial area in the municipality of Juazeiro, state of Bahia, Brazil.…”

Resource Collection by Honeybees (Apis mellifera) on Yellow Melon (Cucumis melo) Flowers

“…Concerning the period of time of resources collection, the pattern showed in Figure 1 was similar to that found by Kiill et al (2011), in the same region, with different types of melon. Sousa et al (2012) studied honeybee activities on yellow melon flowers in the state of Ceará and found similar results as well, that is, initial collection of P and then N, although with greater differences and at other times (from 11 a.m.).…”