Foraging behaviour of Giant Rock honeybee, Apis dorsata on bottle brush, Callistemon lanceolatus (Myrtaceae)

Abstract

Foraging behavior of honeybee, Apis dorsata on bottle brush inflorescences, Callistemon lanceolatus was studied in Chalisgaon, during February, 2015 to April, 2016. It was noticed that honey bee intensely and preferably foraged first for pollen and then after for nectar in the flowers of bottle brush, almost throughout the day, with a peak between 8:30 and 9:30 am. It was also noted that pollen foragers spent less time per flower and visited more flowers per minute when bees collected pollen and nectar from the same plant. Apis dorsata spent 9.42±3.6 sec/flower with foraging rate 7.93± 3.2 bees/flowers was the highest between 8:30 and 9:30 am during flowering period.