Foraging Behaviour of Apis mellifera scutellata and Hypotrigona gribodoi Bees in Monoculture and Polyculture Vegetable Gardens

Tarakini, Gugulethu; Chemura, Abel; Tarakini, Tawanda; Mashavakure, Nilton; Musundire, Robert

doi:10.1007/s12595-021-00373-7

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…There are observations of the foraging behaviour of the East African lowland honey bee ( Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier, 1836) in its native range (e.g. Schneider & McNally, 1992a, 1992b; Tarakini et al., 2021), which extends from southern Ethiopia, southwards and westwards through Kenya and Tanzania, and down into southern Africa, where it is replaced by the Cape Honey Bee ( Apis mellifera capensis Eschscholtz, 1822). Although A. m. scutellata is reported as being more aggressive when defending its colonies than A. m. mellifera , there have been few direct observations of this in wild colonies in Africa (Kastberger et al., 2009; Schneider & McNally, 1992b; Zarate et al., 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggressive dominance of acacia floral resources by wild east African lowland honey bees

Kashulwe,

Mngulwi,

Karlsson

et al. 2024

Afr J Ecol

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The East African lowland honey bee (Apis mellifera scutellata) is reported as an aggressive subspecies of the Western honey bee, but few studies have investigated the impact of its aggressiveness on other insect pollinators. Observations of flower visitors to Vachellia (Acacia) etbaica and interactions between honey bees and other insects were conducted in 2022 in Mpala, Kenya. A total of 873 individual flower visitors were recorded, the most frequent being Hymenoptera, followed by Diptera and Lepidoptera. Honey bees dominated floral resources in the morning and late afternoon. When honey bees encountered other types of insects, they displaced the latter from flowers 100% of the time. This has never been observed in other Western honey bee subspecies, and we recommend further research on these taxa.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggressive dominance of acacia floral resources by wild east African lowland honey bees

Kashulwe,

Mngulwi,

Karlsson

et al. 2024

Afr J Ecol

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“…Not only do non-target insect species often provide pollination services, but they provide other beneficial services, such as pest control by natural enemies [23,24]. The intensive nature of monocultures, particularly for mass-flowering crops, can potentially encourage pollinator visitation time, with pollinator efficiency sometimes being higher in monocultures than it is in polycultures [25,26]. However, when land is cleared for monocultures, nesting, larval, and floral resources for insect pollinator species are diminished [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flower Visitation Time and Number of Visitor Species Are Reduced by the Use of Agrochemicals in Coffee Home Gardens

Manson

Nekaris

Hedger³

et al. 2022

Agronomy

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Pollination services, from both wild and managed populations of insect pollinators, have degraded as a result of agricultural intensification. Whilst 75% of economically important crops depend on insect pollinators for cultivation, 40% of insect pollinator species are threatened with extinction. Pollination services must be preserved if there is to be enough food for a global population whose demand is expected to double, if not triple, by 2050. Pollinator diversity and pollinator efficiency have been found to increase as a result of wildlife-friendly farming practices (i.e., natural chemicals and fertilizers and agroforestry). We evaluated the presence of insect pollinators in 42 coffee home gardens in West Java, Indonesia. Via generalized linear mixed models, we found that number of visitor species (β = 0.418 ± SE 0.194, p = 0.031) and visitation time (β = 0.845 ± SE 0.308, p = 0.006) decreased as farms were more intensely managed, (i.e., used chemical pesticides), compared to fields using organic practices. As knowledge of pollination services is widespread amongst smallholder farmers in Indonesia and beyond due to the long-held tradition of beekeeping, these results will add to their existing knowledge and empower farmers to enhance resources for pollinator species through agroforestry and natural pest management. Although we found significant differences in pollination services provided in intensely managed and wildlife-friendly farms, chemical use can affect farms far beyond a particular area of production. Therefore, pollinator conservation must be applied at a landscape level and involve all stakeholders, including farmers, when making effective policies.

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Pollination knowledge among local farmers in northern Tanzania and the role of traditional agroforestry practices in promoting pollinator forage plants

Kingazi,

Temu,

Sirima

et al. 2024

Environmental and Sustainability Indicators

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Foraging Behaviour of Apis mellifera scutellata and Hypotrigona gribodoi Bees in Monoculture and Polyculture Vegetable Gardens

Cited by 3 publications

References 67 publications

Aggressive dominance of acacia floral resources by wild east African lowland honey bees

Aggressive dominance of acacia floral resources by wild east African lowland honey bees

Flower Visitation Time and Number of Visitor Species Are Reduced by the Use of Agrochemicals in Coffee Home Gardens

Pollination knowledge among local farmers in northern Tanzania and the role of traditional agroforestry practices in promoting pollinator forage plants

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