Biodiversidade e comportamento forrageiro das abelhas nas inflorescências do coentro (Coriandrum sativum L.).

Abstract

The study of plants supplying trophic resources to bees is important for the preservation, management and production of beekeeping and meliponiculture. The objective of this research was to study the biodiversity and forage behavior of bees in coriander inflorescences. This experiment was conducted at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Campus Dois Irmãos, located in Recife, PE. The frequency of visitations and the type (nectar and / or pollen) of bees collected in the coriander inflorescences during the day were evaluated. These data were obtained by counting in the first 10 minutes of each time, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. with three repetitions, during three distinct days. Mainly bees were observed visiting coriander inflorescences being stingless bees Trigona spinipes (35,95%), stingless bees Plebeia sp. (12.21%), Africanized honeybees Apis mellifera (5,78%), Halictidae native bees (3,1%) and stingless bees Frisiomellita varia (0.99%). T. spinipes stingless bees were the most frequent and constant, collecting nectar and pollen. This plant species should be planted near apiaries and meliponaries being an important source of food resources for both Africanized and wild bees in Recife, PE.