Foraging behaviour of nectar collecting insects in banana, Musa paradisica

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to observe the foraging behaviour of nectar collecting insects on a banana from October to November. About eight species of insects were recorded which belongs to the order Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera. Among Hymenoptera, Apis cerana and Vespa tropica were the common visitors in banana. The mean foraging activity of A. cerena was 4.00 per day and 1.06 per day for V. tropica during the first fortnight interval. During the second fortnight interval the mean foraging activity was 5.40 per day for A. cerena and 0.33 per day for V. tropica. The third fortnight recorded the least foraging activity of both A. cerena (3 per day) and V. tropica (0.33 per day). The activity of different species of butterflies was least in all time points of observation.