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

Ribeiro, M. F.; Silva, Eva M. S.; Kiill, L. H. P.; Siqueira, K. M. M. de; Coelho, Márcia S.; Silva, Mara P.

doi:10.5539/jas.v9n4p15

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Perhaps there is a preference of bees for floral resources offered by melon flowers. Previous studies (KIILL et al, 2011;RIBEIRO et al, 2017) have indeed shown that they were the most abundant in visits to melon flowers throughout the observation period.…”

Section: Apis Melliferamentioning

confidence: 72%

“…Because such plants have heavy pollen grains, which are difficult to be carried by the wind, their pollination is entomophilous, that is, insects are the main floral visitors (KIILL et al, 2011). Among visitors to this crop, honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) stand out as effective pollinators, visiting melon flowers throughout the day (SIQUEIRA et al, 2011) in search of nectar and pollen, although at certain times they give preference to one or the other resource (RIBEIRO et al, 2017). In fact, honey bees are essential for the production of fruit in melon (SOUZA et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Composition and Frequency of Flower Visitors in Some Varieties of Melon Under Different Crop Conditions1

et al. 2021

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Previous investigations showed that diverse varieties of melon may have different attractiveness for bees. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the composition, frequency and behavior of flower visitors of some melon (Cucumis melo) cultivars (Amarelo, Pele de Sapo, Cantaloupe, Gália) in different conditions (conventional and organic farming, dry and rainy seasons, with and without mulching and introduction or not of honey bee hives) in the main production poles in the Brazilian Northeast (Petrolina-PE/Juazeiro-BA, Pacajus-CE and Mossoro-RN). Observations and collections of flower visitors occurred from 5p.m. to 6p.m, in non-consecutive days. We recorded 12 species of insects, mostly bees. The most frequent was Apis mellifera (99.68%), but other species appeared sporadically (less than 0.5%): Xylocopa grisescens, Trigona spinipes, Plebeia sp., Melipona mandacaia, Frieseomelitta doedereleini, Halicitidae. Apis mellifera was present in all studied cultivars and sites. Xylocopa grisescens appeared in two poles, but not in Pacajus-CE, Amarelo cultivar. In addition, Trigona spinipes, although present in the three poles, was not recorded on Pele de Sapo. The Amarelo cultivar, under organic farming, without the use of mulching, and presence of honey bee hives, in the Petrolina-PE/Juazeiro-BA pole, in the dry season, was the combination of factors showing the largest number of Apis mellifera as the main visitor of melon flowers.

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Section: Apis Melliferamentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition and Frequency of Flower Visitors in Some Varieties of Melon Under Different Crop Conditions1

et al. 2021

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“…Tschoeke et al (2015) indeed found that bees spent significantly more time collecting pollen than nectar. Ribeiro et al (2017), although using a different methodology, also suggested this.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering the nectar, its production by flowers is continuous throughout the day. HF show a higher frequency of visits (Ribeiro et al, , 2017 and are more attractive (Kill et al, 2014), and replenishment of nectar would be lower in areas with the highest number of hives and, therefore, with the highest number of bees visiting the flowers. The nectar would be reduced more rapidly, and this would lead the bees to stay longer on these flowers to collect the resource.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging of Honeybees (Apis mellifera) on Flowers of Yellow Melon (Cucumis melo): Duration of Visits

Ribeiro¹,

Silva²,

Kiill³

et al. 2017

JAS

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Studying the pollinators' foraging behaviour is quite important for pollination. Time spent by the pollinator in floral handling is one of the aspects of this behaviour. Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are the main responsible for the pollination of melon (Cucumis melo), but there are few studies on their foraging, mainly in the region of Petrolina, state of Pernambuco, and Juazeiro, state of Bahia, in Brazil. This study aimed to compare bee visitation to hermaphrodite (HF) and male (MF) flowers in a crop area where different number of hives were used. For each floral type, 10 flowers were observed, in each experiment (0, 1, 2 or 3 hives). The duration of bee visits (n = 10) was registered in three times of the day: 8 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4 p.m. In general, HF received significantly longer visits than MF, in all experiments, except when using one hive. In fact, significant correlations were found between the duration of visits and number of hives for HF, but not for MF. This is probably related to the attractiveness of HF and to the availability of floral resources. The studies of duration of pollinator' visits are relevant in agriculture and should be considered when evaluating the efficiency of pollination in melon.

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

Cited by 2 publications

References 8 publications

Composition and Frequency of Flower Visitors in Some Varieties of Melon Under Different Crop Conditions1

Composition and Frequency of Flower Visitors in Some Varieties of Melon Under Different Crop Conditions1

Foraging of Honeybees (Apis mellifera) on Flowers of Yellow Melon (Cucumis melo): Duration of Visits

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