Diversity and density of insect pollinators on sweet cherry (Prunus avium l.) in temperate region of Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh

A total number of 20 insects belonging to 18 genera under 10 families and 5 orders were recorded from cherry bloom. Among all insects, Apis mellifera, A. cerana and Episyrphus balteatus were most frequent visitors. Other insect visitors trapped in florescent traps were 0.83/trap in the orchard. A. mellifera showed decreasing trend in its activity from 25 m to 100 m distance from the point of placement as no such trend was, observed in other insect groups indicating the impact of introduction of A. mellifera colonies in to cherry orchard. A. cerana population was good on cherry flowers and played important role in pollination in temperate areas like Katrain, Kullu. All insect groups (except wild bees) observed by scan sampling and sweep net method peaked their activity at 1200 h. All the three sampling methods were effective in recording insect pollinators diversity.