Pollinators in tropical ecosystems of Southern India with emphasis on the native pollinators Apis cerana indica and Tetragonula iridipennis

Abstract

Ecosystems are rapidly urbanizing at the global and regional scales, particularly in the tropics, which has deleterious effect on hymenopteran pollinators. Based on the literature spanning multiple disciplines including ecology, pollination, agriculture, agroecology and entomology, this review deliberates on the pollinators and their global decline. Also, it turns the focus on honey bees and their role in agroecosystem. Relevant information from melissopalynology is brought together and the gaps and directions of future research on conservation and management of honey bees in tropical peninsular India are discussed. Focus is on the two species of the hived native Apis cerana indica F., and Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (Hymenoptera: Apidae), as these play a major role in transforming existing agricultural landscapes into agroecosystems, benefitting the farmers and maintaining ecological balance in tropical peninsular India. This review brings to the fore the fact that there is a tangible gap in reports and long-term studies of many native pollinators and in particular the two hived honey bees. Most studies present in a thorough manner visual observations of pollinators (bees) on plants but rarely combine them with quantifying the resources gathered from the plants, especially pollen. This combined approach is especially important to understand the hymenopteran pollinators from the purview of the pollination service they provide. It can be concluded that there is a pressing requirement for long-term observations along these lines with quantifiable pollen and vegetation data to arrive at meaningful plant-pollinator networks that are essential for conservation and management of the native Asiatic honey bees as pollinators.

Diversity matters: Diet of Apis cerana in southeast India includes one consistently occurring and several seasonally available floral sources

“…We opine that both plant-centric visual observations of bee (pollinator) visits and bee (pollinator)-centric light microscopic analyses of pollen can provide a more robust understanding of pollinators and their networks. Our study brings forth the important dietary aspects of conservation of A. cerana in this mosaic landscape, in the context of declining pollinator populations (Indhu et al 2022). A future perspective could also be to link the pollen morphological diversity (Plate 1) and pollination success (Pacini and Franchi 2020) taking into account the complexity of evolutionary mechanisms that have shaped plant pollinator interactions.…”

“…Also, in parts of Southeast Asia (Kahono et al 2018) honey production from the indigenous giant rock bees Apis dorsata and the stingless Meliponini bees is gaining importance, and beekeeping with the native honey bee A. cerana is becoming more popular. However, pollination as a crucial ecosystem and agricultural service is the greater contribution of honey bees in their native range that are currently poorly studied and understood (Indhu et al 2022).…”