Pollen Foraging Behaviour of Apis dorsata at the onset of spring in Lucknow, Uttar

Abstract

Honey is the natural sweet produced by honeybees from nectar and other secretions of plants. Honeybees not only collect nectar but also pollen that forms an integral part of their diet. House bees collect the nectar from the stomach of the worker bees followed 
by enzymatic action that ripens the nectar into honey. In the foregoing study gut analysis of Apis dorsata collected from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh is done to study pollen load present therein. Reverse mellisopalynological analysis during early spring reflects the 
floral resource that makes up the dietary habit of the bee. Syzgium cumini forms the dominant grain in the pollen load recovered from the mid gut. This qualitative approach throws light to the bee flora of the region and can be utilized for the regional potential for 
apiary industries.