1Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat - 785 013, Assam, India
2Department of Agronomy, AAU, Jorhat - 785 013, Assam, India
Department of Agricultural Entomology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia - 741 252, West Bengal, India
*Corresponding authors’ E-mail : souravsen561@gmail.com
Online Published on 06 December, 2023.
A study on the foraging resources, floral cycle and foraging activities of stingless bee, T. iridipennis S. was conducted by installing three wooden hives (15504 cc) at three different places. A total 48 foraging plant species belonging to 26 families were recorded and among them the most predominant foraging plant family was Asteraceae. The maximum availability of foraging plants was observed in January, 2021 (16.96%). The most of visited plants were herbaceous in nature and had small sized flowers with yellow, white, blue and purple colours. The foraging distance range of T. iridipennis from the hive was 29 ± 0.12 to 360 ± 2.58 m. The foraging activities of the bees were recorded from 6.00 -19.00 h. The peak period of activity was recorded during 9.00 to 11.00 h and then their activity gradually decreased and reached at minimum level at evening (17.00 - 19.00 h). Mean number of foraging bees were found higher in rabi season compared to other two seasons viz., pre-kharif and kharif.
Floral cycle, Foraging activity, Meliponiculture, Pollination, Wooden hive
