Diversity of polleniferous plants of Apis mellifera L. in mid hill region of Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

This study was carried out in Nauni, mid hill region of Himachal Pradesh, in 2017 to determine the pollen resources of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. through pollen load analysis. The pollen loads were collected from returning foragers to hives maintained at the university apiary. Pollen analysis of pollen loads of A. mellifera done throughout the year showed the presence of 66 pollen types belonged to 29 botanical families. Major polleniferous plant species that provided homogenous (unifloral) pollen loads were Actinidia deliciosa, Allium cepa, Bidens pilosa, Bombax cieba, Brassica campestris, Calendula officinalis, Centaurea cyanus, Cosmos sulphureus, Cucumis sativus, Dahlia pinnata, Erigeron annuus, Eschscholzia californica, Eucalyptus hybrida, Grewia optiva, Helianthus annuus, Hypericum oblongifolium, Lagerstroemia indica, Malus domestica, Opuntia dillenii, Ornithogalum thyrsoides, Parthenium hysterophorus, Peltophorum ferrugineum, Prunus armeniaca, P. domestica, P. persica, P. puddum, Punica granatum, Pyrus communis, P. pashia, Robinia pseudoacacia, Rosa moschata, Toona ciliata, Trifolium repens, Trigonella foenum-graecum,Venidium fastuosum, Zea mays and Zinnia elegans. The plant family that provided the highest pollen plant diversity was Asteraceae (14pollen types) followed by Rosaceae (10) and Fabaceae (8). The identified bee flora comprises ornamentals, horticultural plants, vegetables, condiments, oil seed plants, cereal, wild plants and weeds. These data provide a piece of information on bee pollen foraging plants of primary importance in the development of colonies in mid hill regions of Himachal.