Importância das flores do Cosmos sulphureus para manutenção de diversas espécies de abelhas.

Abstract

Bees have an integral dependence on floral products. In order to meet their dietary needs, they visit several flowers continuously, with the aim of harvesting the pollen that serves as a source of protein and the nectar that serves as a by-product for honey production. Among the visits of the bees to the flowers, occurs the process called pollination, in which happens the deposit of pollen from one flower on the stigma of another. Among the flowers most visited by bees in Brazil, are prominent those belonging to the family Asteraceae, and one of them is a plant called Cosmos sulphureus, popularly known as the yellow Cosmos. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency, profile of visits and the type of bee collection in the flowers of C. sulphureus. The relationship between bees and plants of the cosmos type was observed by counting the frequency of visits and the type of material (nectar and/or pollen) to be collected. The foraging behaviour of different bee species was also assessed. Entirely Casualised Delineation and Tukey testing were used to compare treatment averages. Statistical analyses were processed using BioStat software. Visits to the most frequent bees were between 7:00 and 12:00 a.m. Among the main species of bees that carried out visits to the Cosmos, stood out those of the Halictity family: Pseudaugochloropsis graminea (25.57%) and Augochlora sp. (23,30%); solitary bees Megachile rotundata (23.0%) and, in lesser numbers, bees without sting Remote plebea (7.96%), Trigona spinipes (7.39%) and solitary bees Xylocopa frontalis (2.84%). The Cosmos should be planted near apiaries and meliponaries as a source of food for Africanized and wild bees.