Floral Sources for Stingless Bees (Tetragonula iridipennis) in Nellithurai Village, Tamilnadu, India

Abstract

We documented 45 plant taxa belonging to 29 families and non-floral sources utilized by Tetragonula iridipennis for pollen, nectar and resin. The foragers of T. iridipennis were also found to collect non-floral resources like fruit juice, fruits kept in the market for sales and from falling and damaged mango and jasmine fruits. The mutualistic association between T. iridipennis colonies and Hemipterans was observed and documented. According to pollen analysis, all are appeared to be multifloral honeys. The families Arecaceae and Fabaceae had a significant importance amongst the samples represented by four pollen types. Coconut, Sunflower and Banana pollen types occurred most constantly among the samples. The present palynological analysis of honey samples can provide the accurate depiction of the bee flora in Nellithurai village. The present study to help the beekeepers to know the stingless bee flora and to identify the botanical origins of honey.

Full text

Floral Sources for Stingless Bees ( ) in
NellithuraiVillage, Tamilnadu, India
Tetragonula iridipennis
K. Vijayakumar, R. Jeyaraaj
Department of Zoology, Kongu Nadu Arts and Science College,
Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu, India
Key words: Bee flora, Non-f loral sources,
Melissopalynology, Meliponiculture.
Study Area: Nellithurai Village, Tamilnadu, India
Coordinates: 11°16'59.74”N & 76°53'6.24”E
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Published by: National Cave Research and Protection Organization, India Vol. 3(2):Online
Year 2016
*Corresponding Author: knvijgs@gmail.com
ISSN- 2348 5191 (Print) & 2348 8980 (Electronic)
ambient
SCIENCE
Ambient Science, 2016: Vol. 03(2); Online
DOI:10.21276/ambi.2016.03.2.ra04
We documented 45 plant taxa belonging to 29 families and
non-floral sources utilized by Tetragonula iridipennis for
pollen, nectar and resin. The foragers of T. iridipennis were
also found to collect non-f loral resources like fruit juice,
fruits kept in the market for sales and from falling and
damaged mango and jasmine fruits. The mutualistic
association between T. iridipennis colonies and
Hemipterans was observed and documented. According to
pollen analysis, all are appeared to be multifloral honeys.
The f amilies Arecaceae and Fabaceae had a signif icant
importance amongst the samples represented by four
pollen types. Coconut, Sunflower and Banana pollen types
occurred most constantly among the samples. The present
palynological analysis of honey samples can provide the
accuratedepiction of the bee flora in Nellithurai village. The
present study to help the beekeepers to know the stingless
bee flora and to identify the botanical origins of honey.
Abstract
Introduction:
Stingless bees comprise a highly diverse and abundant
group of eusocial bees that inhabit the tropical and
subtropical parts of the world. These are the major
biomass component of the nectar and pollen foraging
insect community in many tropical areas. Stingless bees
are effective pollinators of wild and cultivated crops.
According to Kerr (2001), 30-80% of plants are
pollinated by one or more species of stingless bees in their
biomes. In India, Tetragonula iridipennis is widely
distributed and nests in varying substrates, becoming also
abundant in disturbed areas. The coloniesof stinglessbees
make less honey, as compared to other contemporarily
honeybees.
In the tropical regions, there are a variety of trees,
shrubs and agricultural crops that provide pollen and
nectar to the bees. Apis uses large amounts of pollen to
support its brood production and swarming, while the
stingless bees do not often swarm and uses less pollen
(Roubik, 2006 ) . is a gentle species and easily
adjusts to beekeeping used to collect honey or to pollinate
crops (Kumar 2012; Vijayakumar 2013). They are
generalists in their habits and their eff icient pollination
on the tropical flora is remarkable.
Studies have been made in areasharbor different types
et al.
T. iridipennis
et al. et al.
of vegetation such as natural forests, grasslands,
agricultural land, pasture land, orurban areas. Mostof the
methods for obtaining information about bee plants in an
area are based on direct f ield observation of foraging bees
on flowers. Absy & Kerr (1977) using pollen analysis of
honey began the study of stingless bee floral visitation in
the Amazon region, which comprises different forest
types, namely savannas and riversides including human-
disturbed landscapes and urban areas. In Brazil, Oliveira
(2009) demonstrated that stingless bees are using
varity of pollen resources, but they are not commonly
utilized the unique plant species. The analysis of bee plant
pollen loads and palynological analysis of honey samples
can provide the accurate depiction of the bee flora of a
particulararea/landscape (Lakshmi, 2012).
The melissopalynological studies of stingless bee
honey are rare, limited to
and (Absy & Kerr 1977),
sp. aff.
sp., sp. aff.
and (Vit 1994),
(Carvalho , 2001) , (Alves
2006 ), (Flores & Sanchez 2010) ,
and (Vit 2012). In India, signif icant work
et al.
Melipona seminigra merrillae
Melipona rufiventris paraensis
Melipona compressipes, Melipona favosa, Melipona
trinitatis, Frieseomelitta nigra, Frieseomelitta varia,
Plebeia Scaptotrigona depilis , Scaura latitarsis
T. angustula et al. Melipona scutellaris
et al Melipona mandacaia et al.
Tetragonisca angustula
M. favosa et al.

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RESEARCH ARTICLE
has been carried outby various authors (Ramanujam
1992; Bhargava 2009 & Shilpa & Ratan, 2011).
Melissopalynology of honey has been studied
by Suryanarayana (1966) and Bhargava (2009).
Foraged pollen loads are good indicators of the
surrounding flowering plant species that provide pollen
for the bees. They also indicate availability of dominant
food resources for the different pollinators in an
ecosystem. The purpose of this study has been to use two
different methods to identify the plant species visited
mostfrequentlyby .
The study was carried out in the Nellithurai
village of Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India. Field
observations wereconducted between April 2013 to March
2014. In situ identif ication of plants visited by stingless
bee forages wasdone by directobser vationin the f ield. The
bee f loral survey carried out during peak foraging activity
(6.00 am - 6.00 pm). Plant species were considered
attractiveto bees when they were observed to visit by more
than five bees during a particular time interval (10 min).
The identif ication of pollen, nectar and resin foragers
visually based on either pollen or resin load on corbiculae
and honey stomach. The forager bees were caught with
sweep netsand preserved for furtherstudies.
Present melissopalyno-
logical investigation was carried out in 15 different honey
samples collected from different hived colonies of
Tetragonula iridipennis located at Nellithurai village,
Tamil Nadu, India. Pollen slides of honey samples were
prepared using the method of Loureaux et al. (1978) and
acetolysis (Erdtman, 1960). The pollen grains obtained
from honey samples were identified and compared with
the reference slides made from identif ied plants and from
standard works of Erdthman (1960) and Lakshmi (2012).
The absolute pollen count and percentages of pollen types
in each sample were calculated (Lakshmi, 2012) on the
basis of total number of pollen grains counted in each
sample. Samples were observed using light and polarized
lightmicroscopy.
The pollen spectra were constructed on the basis
of these percentages. Honeysamples having 45% or more
grains of a single pollen type were termed as “unifloral
honey” and those having several pollen types in
considerable percentage were termed as “multifloral
honey”. Frequencies and frequency classes of the pollen
types were determined in accordance with Louveaux et
al.(1978) and the pollen types were placed under four
pollen frequency classes (Predominant pollen D (Above
45%), Secondary pollen S (16% to 45%), Important minor
pollen - IM (3% to 15%), Minor pollen m (Less than 3%))
recommended by the International Commission for Bee
Botany (ICBB) (Moore & Webb, 1978).
et al.,
et al.,
Syzygium
et al.
T. iridipennis
Study Area:
Melissopalynological study:
Materialsand methods:
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DOI:10.21276/ambi.2016.03.2.ra04
Results
Beefloralsurvey
Extra-floral nectarines and non- floral resources:
Melissopalynological study:
Predominant families of flowering plants in the study
area: A total of 45 plant species belonging to 28 families
were recorded. The important flowering families were
Arecaceae and Fabaceae representing the highest
frequency of 4 (8.89% N=45), Cucurbitaceae,
Euphorbiaceae, Poaceae and Solanaceae with frequency
of 3 (6.67% N=67), Lamiaceae and Rutaceae with
frequency of 2 (4.44% N=45) and remaining 20 families
(Amaranthaceae, Anacardiaceae, Apiaceae,
Apocynaceae, Calenduleae, Commelinaceae,
Convolvulaceae, Lythraceae, Malvaceae, Meliaceae,
Moringaceae, Musaceae, Myrtaceae, Nyctaginaceae,
Phyllanthaceae, Portulacaceae, Rubiaceae, Verbenaceae,
Vitaceae and Zygophyllaceae) with frequency of 1 (2.22%
N=45) (Figure: 1).
honeydew produced by sap-sucking Homoptera is an
important resource for a variety of organisms. The
foragers of were also found to collect non-
floral resources like fruit juice, fruits kept in the market
for sales and from falling and damaged mango and
jasmine fruits. Foragersof were alsofound to
collect sugarsap from leaf nectaries (Plate 1a), sugar cane
sap from crushed sugarcane stems (Plate 1b), watermelon
juice and coconut neera. The foragers collected honeydew
actively from papaya mealy bug ( )
(Plate 1c). The forager of collects fresh resin
from falling flowers (Plate 1d) and tree wounds. The
forager of were observed landing on
mealybug assemblages and ingesting excess honeydew
and bees were found to collect the honeydew f rom the
mealy bug in the morning and late afternoon during
observationtimes.
melissopalynological
investigations carried out on 15 honey samples collected
from hived T. iridipennis colonies and indicated that the
bees were found to forage on 45 pollen types belonging to
29 families for pollen, nectar and resin. The pollen
micrograph was showed in plate 2. During this study, the
pollen samples are taken from 15 hived T. iridipennis
T. iridipennis
T. iridipennis
Paracoccus marginatus
T. iridipennis
T. iridipennis
Ambient Science (2016) Vol.-03(2):online
Figure 1. Important families of floral resources utilized
byT. iridipennis

colonies on April 2013 to March 2014 and were subjected to
microscopicanalysis.
Results from the palynological studies show that
stingless bees collect pollen from a wide range of plant
species. Pollen grains of Cocus nucifera, Helianthus
annuls and Musa paradisiaca were identified as a
secondary pollen group. The important minor pollen
groups (IM) and minor pollen groups (m) tabulated in
table 3. Other plants were also visited by are
sp.,
and . The lowest pollen
frequency of 11 to 20 was noted in
and
the present study site located near the Nilgiri
Biosphere Reserve locatedwithin the WesternGhats and is
a region having high ecological and sociological
importance (Prabhakar, 1994). Recently, Sasidharan &
Kunhikannan (2010) recorded 113 plant species belonging
to 93 generaand 42 families which associated with bees in
the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. During the study, a total of
45 plant species of 12 families was recorded at the source of
Pollen/nectar/resin for stingless bees ( ). The
plant species found in agricultural f ields are of great
economic importance. Results showed that the stingless
T. iridipennis
Alternanthera sessilis, Tamarindus indica, Helianthus
annuls, Cajanus cajan, Citrus medica.Calotropis
gigantean, Parthenium hysterophorus, Pongamia pinnata,
Azadirachta indica, Aerva tomentosa, Digera muricata,
Evolvulus alsinoides, Mimosa pudica, Jatropha curcas,
Phyllanthus emblica, Capsicum frutescens, Eucalyptus
Soalnum melongena, Mangifera indica, Benincasa hispida,
Prisopis julifera Sorghum halepense
Vitex negundo,
Coriandrum sativum, Tribulus terrestris Pennisetum
americanum.
T. iridipennis
Floral sources and non f lora sources for stingless
bees:
Discussion:
bee-flora consists of mostly timber, medicinal, fruits,
vegetables, ornamentals and other commercially
important plants like pulses, cereals, oil yielding, f iber,
fodder etc. Multivarious of the economic importance of
thebeeplantsmustbe protected.
Honeydew produced by sap-sucking Homoptera
is an important resource for a variety of organisms. In the
present study, the mutualistic association between T.
iridipennis colonies and Hemipterans was observed and
documented. The forager bees found to collect the
honeydew from the mealy bug. Similarly, the association
between Hemipterans and stingless bees were discussed
by Camargo & Pedro (2002) and found only the genus
Schwarzula had mutualistic association with
Hemipterans. Roubik (1989) observed the mutualistic
association between stingless bees and Hemipterans. In
addition, some species of stingless bees with obligate
nacrophagic habits, three species (Trigona necrophaga,
T.hypogea and T.crassipes) were found to collect flesh of
dead animals is their only protein source and sugars
obtained from ripe or rotting fruit, extra floral nectaries,
fallen f lowers on theground (Roubik, 1982).
: the results of the pollen
analysesreveals thattheforagesof are mostly
preferred the 12 plants species belonging to four familes
(Asteraceae, Musaceae, Fabaceae and Poaceae). The
highest frequency (71 to 100%) was noted in pollen of
. The presence of the above
pollen types were noted annually, which confirmed the
attractiveness of theirpollen and nectar tostingless bees.
Similarly, Singh & Kar (2011) recorded a diverse
spectrum of 27 pollen types belonging to 19 families from
12 Sunderbans honey samples (Bangaldesh) and
Andaman (India). Jhansi (1994) recorded 51 pollen
types referable to 36 families in the samples studies from
Andhra Pradesh, India. Atwal (1970) studied
different bee flora for four species of for
Lucknow region based on the pollen analysis. Recently,
Padmavathy& Rehel (2014)recorded 12 species belonging
Melissopalynological study
T. iridipennis
Cocus nucifera, Zea myze, Musa paradisiaca and
Commelina benghalensis
et al.
et al.
Apis mellifera
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Ambient Science (2016) Vol.-03(2):online
aabb
dd
cc
Plate 1: collecting - nector from leaf, from
crushed sugercane, excretes from animal waste,
resin from falling f lowers
T. iridipennis a) b)
c) d)
Acacia torta
Parthenium sp.
Alternanthera Cocus nucifera Cocus nuciferasp.
Tamarindus indica Mimosa pudica Mimosa pudica
Plate 2: Pollen micrographs

to 11 families were identif ied as floral sources for
in Conoor, Nilgiri hills,Tamil Nadu. Theyrecorded
the pollen grains of and spp.
frequently from the honeysamplesof .
A pollen spectrumreveled that the pollen grainsof
as a major source of pollen and it was found
throughout the year in the present study area. Similarly,
Bhargava (2009) reported that as the
pollen source available throughout the year in Karnataka,
India. In addition, Sekhar (2000) revealed that the
dominant pollen sources for bees in Bangaluru region are
also and . Many
Asteraceae species produce nectar (Terrab 2001) and
according to our results the taxa of this f amily are of great
importance both as nectar and pollen source in the study
area. In addition, Suryanarayana (1991) in their study
at Muzaffarpur (Bihar), India, reported that members of
Asteraceaeprovided forage fora major partof the year.
The present study confirmed the availability of
high diversity vegetation around Nellithurai village. In
addition, melissopalynology of stingless bee honey helps
to characterizevegetation surrounding the collection site
and provide detailed information on stingless bee
flowering plants. The present study helps the beekeepers
and farmers to know the flowering plants utilized by
stingless bees. Thus they can take appropriates steps to
developmeliponiculture.
Apis
dorsata
Syzygium cumini Acacia
A.dorsata
Cocus nucifera
et al. Cocus nucifera
Cocus nucifera Eucalyptus tereticornis
et al.,
et al.
We are grateful to Dr. Cleofas R.
Cervancia, for her guidance during the study. We are especially
indebted to Dr. Deborah Smith (University of Kansas, USA) for
identifying stingless bee species and providing relevant literature.
I extend my sincere thank to Dr. M. Muthuraman, for his
encouragement and motivation to pursue the research work. I
would also like to thank to beekeeper Mr. G.K. Thangavelu for
samplecollectionand documentation.
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Table-1: Stingless bee floral sources in Nellithurai village
No Scientif ic name Common name /Tamil name Family Habitat
1 Adhatoda zeylanica Malabarnut/ Adathoda Acanthaceae Herb
2 Alternanthera sessilis Dwarf copperleaf Ponnanganni Keerai Amaranthaceae Herb
3 Azadirachta india Neem/Vambu Meliacae Tree
4 Benincasa hispida Pumpkin / Poosanikai Cucurbitaceae Vegetable
5 Boerhavia diffusa Red spiderling/ Mukkarattai keerai Nyctaginaceae Herb
6 Calotropis gigantean Yerukku Apocynaceae Shrub
7 Calendula off icinalis Mary gold Calenduleae Herb
8 Capsicum f rutescens Chilly Solanaceae Vegetable
9 Caryota urens Jaggery Palm Arecaceaee Herb
10 Ceiba pentandra Java kapok/ Ilavam Malvaceaee Tree
11 Cissus quadrangularis Devil's Backbone/ Pirandai V itaceae Climber
12 Citrus medica Lemon Rutaceae Shrup
13 Coccinia grandis Little gourd/ Kovai Cucurbitaceae Climber
14 Cocus nucifera Coconut Palm Arecaceaee Tree
15 Commelina benghalensis Benghal dayflower/ Kanan Keerai Commelinaceae Herb
16 Coriandrum sativum Coriander/ Kothamalli Apiaceae Herb
17 Croton bonplandianum Croton/ Rail Poondu Euphorbiaceae Herb
18 Evolvulus alsinoides Vishnukiranthi Convolvulaceae Herb
19 Eucalyptus sp. Thailamaram Myrtaceae Tree
20 Helianthus annuls Sunf lower Asteraceae Oil seed
21 Ixora coxinia Jungle f lame/ Itlly Poo Rubiaceae Shrub
22 Jatropha curcas Physic nut Euphorbiaceae Shrub
23 Jatropha gossypifoli - Euphorbiaceae Shrub
24 Lantana camara Wild Sage/ Unni Verbenaceae Shrub
25 Lawsonia inermis Henna/ Maruthani Lythraceae Shrub
26 Mangifera indica Mango/ Maa Anacardiaceae Tree
27 Momordica charantia Bitter Guard/ Paval Cucurbitaceae Climber
28 Moringa pterygosperma Drum Stick/ Murungai Moringaceae Tree
29 Murraya koenigii Curry tree/ Karuvapplli Rutaceae Shrub
30 Musa paradisiaca Banana Musaceae Tree
31 Ocimum canum Holy Basil/ Nai thulasi Lamiaceae Herb
32 Parthenium hysterophorus Parthenium weed/ Visha Poondu Asteraceae Herb
33 Pennisetum americanum Pearl millet/ Kambu Poaceae Pulses
34 Phyllanthus emblica Amla/ Nelli Phyllanthaceae Tree
35 Portulaca oleracea . Pigweed/ Paruppu Keerai Portulacaceae Herb
36 Prisopis julifera Mesquite Fabaceae Shrub
37 Pithecellobium dulce Manila tamarind/ Kodukkapuli Fabaceae Tree
38 Soalnum melongena Brinjal Solanaceae Vegetable
39 Solanum nigrum Black nightshade/ Manathakali Solanaceae Herb
40 Sorghum halepense Johnson grass/ Solam Poaceae Pulses
41 Tamarindus indica Tamarind/ Poliyamaram Fabaceae Tree
42 Tribulus terrestris Tackweed/ Nerinji Zygophyllaceae Herb
43 V igna radiate Green Gram/ Pasi Payaru Fabaceae Pulses
44 Vitex negundo Nochi Lamiaceae Shrub
45 Zea myze Myze Poaceae Pulses

Ambient Science (2016) Vol.-03(2):online
http://www.caves.res.in/
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Ambient Science, 2016: Vol. 03(2); Online
DOI:10.21276/ambi.2016.03.2.ra04
Table-2: Important pollen groups in the study area and their frequency
S.No Family Pollen type S IM M FO*
*Frequency observation
1 Acanthaceae Aerva tomentosa 5 33.30
2 Alternanthera sessilis 10 66.70
3 Digera muricata 6 40.00
4 Anacardiaceae Mangifera indica 1 3 26.60
5 Apiaceae Coriandrum sativum 2 1 20.00
6 Apocynaceae Calotropis gigantean 6 1 46.67
7 Asteraceae Cocus nucifera 12 2 1 100.00
8 Helianthus annuls 6 3 60.00
9 Parthenium hysterophorus 3 2 2 46.67
10 Tridax procumbens 1 5 40.00
11 Commelinaceae Commelina benghalensis 11 73.33
12 Convolvulaceae Evolvulus alsinoides 5 33.30
13 Euphorbiaceae Croton bonplandianum 3 20.00
14 Jatropha curcas 4 2 40.00
15 Fabaceae Cajanus cajan 5 3 53.33
16 Pongamia pinnata 4 3 46.67
17 Mimosa pudica 4 26.60
18 Tamarindus indica 2 5 3 66.70
19 Lamiaceae Vitex negundo 1 1 13.33
20 Meliaceae Azadirachta indica 6 1 46.67
21 Myrtaceae Eucalyptus sp. 2 2 26.60
22 Musaceae Musa paradisiaca 7 4 73.33
23 Phyllanthaceae Phyllanthus emblica 1 4 33.33
24 Poaceae Pennisetum americanum 3 20.00
25 Sorghum halepense 4 26.60
26 Zea myze 7 3 2 80.00
27 Rutaceae Citrus medica 3 1 4 53.33
28 Solanaceae Capsicum frutescens 1 5 40.00
29 Soalnum melongena 6 40.00
30 Zygophyllaceae Tribulus terrestris 3 20.00