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An Analysis of Pollen Loads of HoneyBees from Kangra, IndiaMithilesh Sharma aa National Botanic Gardens , Lucknow, IndiaPublished online: 01 Sep 2009.

To cite this article: Mithilesh Sharma (1970) An Analysis of Pollen Loads of Honey Bees from Kangra,India, Grana, 10:1, 35-42

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Grana 10: 35-42, 1970

AN ANALYSIS OF POLLEN LOADS OF HONEY BEES FROM KANGRA, INDIA

Mithilesh Sharma

(Received September 1, 1969)

ABSTRACT

Sharma, hi. (National Botanic Gardens, Lucknow, India.) An atralysis of pollen loads of honey bees front Kattgra, btdiu. Gram 10: 35-42. Illus. 1970.-Thirty-nine bee pollen loads collected in Kangra, were analyzed, during a period of three months. Eight loads were found to be mixed and the rest unifloral. In all, twenty pollen types were recognised in the loads, which included some of the anemophilous types, namely, Gramineae, Cyperaceae, Palmae, Chenopodiaceae and Urticaceae.

INTRODUCTION

Pollen and nectar from plants provide the raw materials for the food of honey bees, and the collection and processing of these raw materials are executed by these insects in an exciting man- ner, exhibiting an intricate pattern of behaviour. The plant preferences of the honey bees can be elucidated from pollen contained in the honey, and also from pollen loads (denoting perhaps the plants visited for pollen collection alone). More- over, the bee pollen load analysis indicates the behavioural pattern and sense of selection of plants Tor food.

Studies on bee loads can be traced back to 1906, when Bonnier (see Eckert 6: Shaw, 1960) carried out work on the plant fidelity of honey bces. Betts (1935) reported that of 915 loads, 28 were of mixed type. Vansell 6: Griggs (1952) found a few mixed ones among 1000 loads, and Eckert (Eckert 6: Shaw, 1960) reported 60 mixed loads among 1200 examined.

Parker, in 1926 (see Park, 1954) listed 31 Iowa plant species, on the basis of his field ob- s-rvations on bee bchaviour. Harris & Filmer (1948) published a brief communication dealing

with the pollen in honey, and bee loads. Later, Dzodikar (1964) reported that the characteristic colour shade of each pollen load helped to trace its floral origin. According to Phadke (1964) the pollen load of Cwbia callosn had a characteristic shade of pink. Suryanarayana gL Thaker (1966) observed that the pollen loads of Phlox h w i -

niondii were yellow. Furthermore, there have been references re-

garding the numbers and weights of pollen grains contained in pollen loads. Khalifman (1951, p. 132) observed that the weight of two pollen pel- lets borne on the hind legs of a honey bee, is twenty to twenty-five milligrammes, and the pol- len grains are three to four million in number. There are also records on quantitative data of pollen collected by bces during the course of various seasons, and throughout the year. All these suggest the importance of the study of bee pollen loads, in gaining a knowledge of the food habits and needs of honey bees.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

A total number of 39 bee pollen loads was col- lected in Kangra (Himachal Pradesh, altitude 2492 ft) at various times of day and on various days, covering a period of about 3 months (from 1st June to 26th August, 1968). The pollen loads were kindly supplied by Mr A. P. Percy.

Each b x pollen load was received in a scaled alkathene bag. The pollen grains werc dispersed in water, and acetolysed, according to the method suggested by Erdtnian (1952), and mounted in glycerine jelly. The field data, and the pollen herbarium (preserved at the Palynology Labora-

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36 M. Sltarrrici

Tablz I. Polleri urralyses of Iro~tcy bee londs jrom Karrgru, Iritliu Pcrcentages of pdlcn types.

S3mpl: D3t: of no. (of co l lx- Tim: of Compositae Chcnopodiaccae pollen tion collec- Cypera- Grami- Cruci- load) (1968) tion Typ:-I Typ:-2 Type-3 ceac neae ferae Palmae Type-I Type-2

I 116 2 116 3 316 4 316 5 316 G 316 1 316 8 1116 9 30/6

10 117 I I I 17 12 117 I3 117 14 111 15 917 16 917 11 911

19 917 20 1517 21 1511 22 1511 23 1511 24 1511 25 2911 26 2911 21 118 28 718 29 1018 30 io!a 31 10/8 32 lola 33 I oia 3 1 I o/a 35 I 2ta 36 1218 3 1 2 !/a 38 2618 39 2618

18 917

8.20 a.m. 10 a.m. 11.20 a.m. 12.20 p.m. 3.20 p.m. 3.20 p.m. 3.25 p.m. 1.25 a.m.

1.30 a.m. 1.30 a.m. 9.30 a.m. 9.30 a.m.

I2 Noon 8 a.m. 8 a.m.

I2 Noon 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 1.30 a.m. 1.30 a.m. 9.30 a.m.

11.30 a.m. 3.15 p.m. 8.30 a.m.

12.30 p.m. 6.30 a.m. 6.30 a.m.

10.30 a.m. I I a.m. I I a.m. 4 p.m. 4 p.m. 4 p.m. 9.30 a.m. 3.30 a.m.

I I a.m. 1.30 a.m. 1.30 a.m.

I I a.m.

tory, National Botanic Gardens, Lucknow) fornled the basis for the identification of thc various pollen typcs.

OBSERVATIONS

In thc analysis of bee pollen loads, a few spccial terms wcrc employed: Unifloral: with one pol- len type; bifloral: with two pollen typcs; multi- floral: with niorc than two pollen types. Thc ob- servations are siimmarized in Table I, and Fig. 1.

It was observcd that the pollen load collccted

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on 1st June, 1968, at 8.20 p.m. was bifloral, thc taxa represented bcing Compositac type-’, (PI. 1, Fig. 4; 0.9%) and Palmae (Phoerrix sp., PI. 3, Fig. 1; 99.1%). On thc same day, another load, collcctcd at 10 a.m. was multifloral, having four pollcn types: Cruciferae (PI. 1, Fig. 8; 83.35%), Gramineae (PI. 2, Fig. 3; 10.66%), Compositac type-2 (3.27%), and Onagraceae (PI. 2, Fig. 8; 2.72 %).

On thc 3rd of. June, 1968, fivc pollen loads wcrc analysed. The loads collcctcd at 11.20 a.m. and 12.20 p.m. werc bifloral, thc former being

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Pollen loads of honey bees froni Knrigra, Itidin 37

~~

Mimoseae Unidentified Onagn- Trifo- Lugers- Urtica- ceae Iiirni troemia Citrus Type-I Type-2 Bnuhinin ceae Acrnronc Type-] Type-2

represented by Chenopodiaccac type-1 (PI. 1, Fig. 6; 71.65%) and Lcguminosac (Trifoliiirti sp.; PI. 3, Fig. 2; 28.35%). and the latter composed of pollen grains of Lythraceae (Lngerstroeriiin in- clicu; PI. 2, Figs. 4 and 5; 84.5%) and Com- positac type-1 (PI. 1, Fig. 3; 15.5%). At 3.20 p.m. the same day two loads wcre found to bc unifloral, consisting of Gramincae and Compo- sitae type-2, respectively. Another load collected at 3.25 p.m. was also unifloral (Compositac

A singlc bee load analysed on 17th June at type-1).

7.25 a.m. was unifloral (Conipositae type-1). An- other load collected at 11 a.m. on 30th June was likcwisz. unifloral (Gramineae; one type only).

On 1st July, five bee loads were examined. Of two loads collected at 7.30 a.m. one was uni- floral (Gramineac), the othcr multifloral: Grami- neae (60%), Cypcraceae (PI. 2, Fig. 2; 25%), and Barihirriu (B nciintitrnta? or B. tonietitosa?; PI. 1, Fig. 2; 15%). At 9.30 a.m., onc load was multifloral (Urticaccae, Cnrirtabis?, PI. 3, Fig. 3; 65 % ; Gramineae, 7 % ; an unidentified type with 4-5-zonocolporate pollen, PI. 3, Fig. 4, 28%), an-

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38 M . Sharriin

PI. 1. hlagnification, x 1000. 1, Ariermme; 2, Buirhbiiu; positae type-3; 6, Chenopodiaceae type-I; 7, Cheno- 3, Cornpositae type-1; 4, Cornpositae type-2; 5, Corn- podiaccac type-2; 8, Cruciferae.

other unifloral (Arieniorie sp., PI. 1, Fig. 1). A solitary bee load collecled at 12 noon on the same day only contained pollen of Chenopodia- ccae (type-1).

On 9th July, at 8 a.m., onc bee load was bi- floral (Cirrirs; PI. 2, Fig. 1, 85 "/o ; and Cypcraccac, 15%). and the other unifloral (Mimosrae type-1, AIbizzia Sp.?; PI. 2, Fig. 6). A bifloral load was collected at 12 noon: Cyperaccae, 74 % ; Cifrirs, 26 %. At 3 p.m., two pollen loads were collected from two bees. Both loads were unifloral (Gra- mineae).

On 15th July, and thereafter, all pollen loads

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wcrc unifloral. Five loads examined on 151h July contained graminaceous pollen grains.

On 29th July, a pollen load collected at 8.30 a.m. contained graminaceous grains. Another col- lected at 12.30 p.m., contained Compositae (type- 3; PI. 1, Fig. 5).

Of two pollen loads collected on 7th August at 6.30 am., one yielded pollen of Citrus, the other small polyads of Mimoscae type-2 (PI. 2, Fig. 7: Mimosa sp.?).

Hereafter, the loads were frequently represented by the Gramineae or Miniosrr, rarely by Loser- stroemio irirlicn or Chenopodiaceae (type-2; PI.

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Polieit loads of hoiiey bees front Kartgm. Iirdia 39

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PI. 2. hlngnification, x 1000. I , Citnu; 2, Cyperaceae; Polyads; 6, hlirnoseae type-1; 7, hiimoseae type-?; 8, 3, Gramineae; 4 and 5, Logersfroe/riiu indicu; 6 and 7, Onagraceae.

1 . Fig. 7). On the 10th of August at 10.30 a.m., a bee load contained graminaceous pollen. Two loads collected at 11 a.m., were different iiifer se. One of them contained polyads of Miiiiosu, the other, grains of Chenopodiaceae (type-2; grains larger than those of type-1 obtained on an earlier occasion).

Three loads collected at 4 p.m. contained pol-

crana I0

len of three different taxa, viz. Gramineae, La- gersfroeiiiia itrdica, and an unidentified (type-?; PI. 3, Fig. 5) , having 3-colporate grains.

On 12th August, two loads collected at 9.30 a.m. showed pollen grains and polyads belonging to the Gramineae and Mirnosn, respectively.

On 22nd August, one load was collected at 11 a.m. which yielded polyads of Mirtlosu type.

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Pollen loads o f honey bees from Karigra, Iiidia 41

Out of the two loads collected at 7.30 a.m., 26th August, one load was graminaceous, the other of Miniosa type.

It may be noted that in the loads of gramina- ceous pollen, the grains were found to be homo- geneous in a particular load, indicating that they came from a single species.

Three pollen types of Compositae were ob- served. Type-1 (PI. 1, Fig. 3) was 3-zonocolporate and spinose, the spines being long and devoid of bulbous bases. Types-2 and -3 were also 3- zonocolporate (PI. 1, Figs. 4 and S), but they both possessed spinules with bulbous bases. Type- 3 (PI. 1, Fig. 5 ) was represented only once (load collected on 29th July, at 12.30 p.m.). The acetolysed grains of type-3 were dark brown, while those of type-’ were yellow. Therefore, it may be presumed that three species of the Com- positae were preferred by the honey bees.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Analyses of bee pollen loads from Kangra have shown that out of 39 loads collected during a span of about 3 months, eight loads were niixed (with more than one pollen type). Each of the others contained one pollen type only. From 1st June to 9th July (12 noon), loads were both unifloral and mixed. From 9th July (3 p.m.) to 76th August (7.30 am.) the loads were purely unifloral. Apparently, in Kangra the months of

PI. 3. hlagnification, x 1000. 1 , Palmae; 2, Trifoliiou; 3, Urticaceae; 4. Unidentified type-1; 5, Unidentified type-2.

June and early July are a ‘dearth period’ for honey bees, during which time the bee abandons its floral fidelity and goes about collecting pollen from different sources. Various plants visited by bzes during the ‘dearth period’ belong to Compositae (types-1 and -2), Cyperaeeae, Gramineae, Cruci- ferae, Palmae (Phoenix sp.), Chenopodiaceae, Onagraceae, Leguminosae (Trifoliiiiii and Baiilii- ilia), Lythraceae (Lagerstroeinin itldica), Rutaceae (Citrus), Mimoseae typc-1 (Albizzia?), Urticaeac (Caiitiubis?), Ranunculaceae (Anemone?), and an unidentified taxon (type-1). The small percentages of pollen of the Cyperaccae, Onagraceae, Tri- j o h n , Barrliiriio, and some Compositae, indicate that the plants were either sporadic in distribu- tion, or that they did not produce a sufficient quantity of pollen, at that time.

During the floral period 9th July -26th August, the loads generally contained the pollen of Gramineae and Mimoscae type-’, (Miriiosu?), and occasionally those of the Compositae type-3, Chenopodiaceae type-2, Citrus, Lagerstroemia in- dica, and the unidentified type-2.

The grass pollen grains often differed in size in the various graminaceous loads, thus denoting that several crops were in flower. The possibility is that various cereal crops, which generally flower during June-August, were frequented by the bees.

Collection of several loads of mimosaceous polyads (type-2) and the pollen of the Compositae

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42 M. Slimria

shows that thosc plants wcrc also preferred by bzcs for pollcn.

During the three month period honey bees were found to show a great prcference for thc pollen of graminaceous plants.

The collection of pollen from scvcral anemo- philous plants, namely thosc of Chenopodiaceac, Cypcraceae, Gramineac, Palmae, and Urticaceae, indicates that thcre is no direct corrclation be- tween thc pollen collection by b x s and pollination of all plants, and that even the ncctarless anemo- philous plants can be frequented by honey bees for pollen.

It is also interesting to note that the time of pollen foraging of bees, is not related to the floral types. As is evidcnt from Table 1, thc pollen of Compositae was collccted both in the evening and morning (3rd June, 3.25 p.m.; 17th June, 7.25 a.m.). Similarly, the pollen of Gramineae was collected throughout the day, as on 15th July.

Collection of different types of pollcn loads at the same time reveals that the different worker bzzs obtaincd pollen from different plants at the same time. In other words, there is a possibility that a division of labour existed among the worker bees regarding their plant preferences in the pro- curement of raw materials for their food.

ment, and to Dr P. K. K. Nair, for his help and guidance during the wurse of this work. I am also grateful to hlr A. P. Percy, Kangra, for his technical help in pro- curing the bee pollen loads.

REFERENCES

Belts, A. D. 1935. The constancy of the pollen collect- ing bees. - Dee W d . 16: 111-113.

Deodikar, G. B. 1964. hlelittopalynology. I ~ I Advances in Palynology (ed. P. K. K. Nair), pp. 404419. - National Botanic Gardens, Lucknow.

Eckert, J. E & Shaw, F. R. 1960. Bee Keeping. - Macmillan, New York.

Erdiman, G. 1952. Pollen morphology and plant tax- onomy. Angiosperms. Stockholm and Waltham, Mass. - Offset edition with addendum, Hafncr, New York 1966.

Iiarris, W. F. & Filmer, D. 1948. Pollen in honey and bee loads. - N. Z. J. Sci. Technol. Sec. I1 28: 1-19.

Khalifman, I. 1951. Bee. - Foreign Language Publish- ing House, hfoscow.

Park, 0. \V. 1954. Activities of honey bees. I r i The Hive and the Honey Bee (ed. Roy A. Grout), pp. 79-152. - Dadant & Sons, IIamilton, 111.

Phadke, R. P. 19G4 Nectar concentration in Carvia callosa Bremek. - Indian B-e J. 26-22-25.

Suryanarayana, hi. C. & Thakar, C. V. 19GG. Studies on ornamental garden plants as bee forage. I. Phlox drummondii Ilk. - Indian Bee J. 28: 17-20

Vansell, G. & Griggs, W. H. 1952. Honey bees as agenls of distribution. US.D.A. Yearbook.: 88-107.

ACKNOWLEDGE hl ENTS Alithileslt Slrarrrin Palyrrology Laboratory Ndiorral Botarric Grrrtleru LrrcIirion*, Irrdin

I am exceedingly grateful to Dr L. B. Singh, Director, National Botanic Gardens, Lucknow, for his encourage-

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