Population dynamics of honeybees and insect pollinators on Indian mustard, Brassica juncea L.

Foraging activity of insect pollinators, viz, Apis cerana indica F., Apis mellifera L., Apis dorsata F., Apis florea F. as also other hymenopterous, lepidopterous and dipterous insects was studied on flowering mustard, Brassica juncea L. from December 2, 1990 to January 14, 1991 at weekly intervals, from 09.00 to 16.00 h at Pusa (Bihar), India. A.c. indica bees were the dominant pollinators of mustard, followed by A. dorsata, A. mellifera and A. florea. A.c. indica bees had the maximum visits (34 to 43 per cent), followed by A. dorsata bees (20 to 26 per cent). The average activities of A. mellifera, A. florea and insects of the three orders wcre below 13 per cent throughout. Visits of A.c. indica was positively correlated with temperature, while humidity had no significant correlation. A. florea had a significant negative correlation with minimum temperature.