Recurso polinífero utilizado por Apis mellifera L. (Himenoptera: Apidae) en un área de bosque subtropical del noroeste de Argentina

Abstract

In Northwest Argentina, Yungas subtropical forests are very important because of their huge vegetal diversity. Honeybees (A. mellifera) use these resources to feed and therefore as an ecosystemic service through beekeeping. The characterization of pollen flora of a region allows getting to know the food source and defining the importance of different plant species for colonies development and maintenance. The aim of the present study is to identify the pollen flora used by A. mellifera in the Yungas western area in Jujuy (Argentina) by means of their pollen loads characterization and to analyze the variations of two consecutive productive periods throughout spring and summer. To do this, 14 samples taken monthly were analyzed over the periods from September 2011 to March 2012 and September 2012 to March 2013. The samples were obtained from pollen traps at the entrances of the hives and were treated in the laboratory under conventional melisopalinology techniques with subsequent acetolysis. A total of 46 pollen types belonging to 25 botanical families were identified. The most important ones according to the family importance index are Euphorbiaceae (35.54), Fabaceae (26.27), Asteraceae (20.77), Vitaceae (16.14), Myrtaceae (9.13). Zanthoxylum, Sebastiania, Mimosa, Euphorbiaceae, Cactaceae, Parapiptadenia excelsa, Eupatorium, Cissus, Eucalyptus y Viguiera were identified as dominant resources. The variations of the breadth Index trophic niche show a floral resources selection for the area, where the use of native species stands out. The information produced in this study contributes to the knowledge of the resource offered by the forest and the species that are important for beekeeping production. Besides, it contributes to enhance the production and marketing of this product from its added value, allowing beekeepers a good management of hives.

Outstanding botanical resources for Plebeia mansita (Apidae, Meliponini) in the Northern Argentine Yungas: botanical characterization of its honey and main nesting substrates

“…Several of the aforementioned pollen types belong to species present in the districts of Selva Montana and Bosque Montano of the Yungas (Brown 2007); their use has been reported in Apis mellifera hives (Méndez et al 2018, 2021) and the species analyzed here (Flores, personal observation). The presence of Pecluma spores is something new for this type of study in the region.…”

Temporal and spatial variation of pollen content in pollen loads of Apis mellifera in the Yungas of northwest Argentina

“…In southern Brazil, its polliniferous importance was also observed in hives both of A. mellifera and of other stingless bee species (Luz et al 2011; Hilgert Moreira et al 2014). Blepharocalyx salicifolius was recorded as a dominant nectarifeours resource in the west sector of the Yungas in Jujuy (Méndez et al 2016) and as a very frequent pollen resource in spring in the same sector (Méndez et al 2018).…”

“…In Argentina, studies have been conducted in the Pampa phytogeographic province (Telleria 1993), Parana River Delta (Basilio 2000), southwest of Córdoba (Faye et al 2002), different areas of the Espinal (Andrada 2003; Andrada and Tellería 2005), Monte region in La Pampa province (Nabb and Tamame 2007), Patagonia (Forcone et al 2011; Forcone and Ruppel 2012) and in the central region of the country (García Paoloni 2021). Studies focusing on the northwest of Argentina include those of Burgos et al (2015) for the Chaco Serrano and those of Méndez et al (2018, 2021) for the west of the Yungas in Jujuy and northern Salta, respectively.…”

Caracterización de los recursos tróficos utilizados por Apis mellifera L. en un área de las Yungas en el norte de Salta (Argentina)

“…La importancia de la familia Myrtaceae (15,9; 26,6), representada por los recursos Blepharocalyx salicifolius y tipo Mirtacaea nativa, podría explicarse a partir de los siguientes aspectos: 1) Es una familia muy diversa en América del Sur (Wilson et al, 2001), formando parte importante de las Yungas, ya que junto con las Lauraceae definen la Selva Montana en las Yungas (Cabrera, 1976;Brown et al, 2002). 2) Por su estructura floral son muy atractivas a los polinizadores (Gressler et al, 2006), siendo visitadas tanto para la obtención de polen, como de néctar, según lo demuestran los análisis melisopalinológicos realizados en mieles de A. mellifera (Méndez, 2014;Méndez et al, 2018;Sánchez, 2013;Sánchez & Lupo, 2017). También son recursos de importancia para las "abejas sin aguijón" (Meliponini) en las Yungas en Salta (Flores & Sánchez, 2010;Flores et al, 2015) y para otras zonas neotropicales (Ramalho et al, 1990), confirmando según los planteado por Ramalho (2004) la preferencia de las abejas por los recursos arbóreos de floración masiva, condición característica de esta familia botánica.…”