Microscopic (LM and SEM) visualization of pollen ultrastructure among honeybee flora from lower Margalla Hills and allied areas

Abstract

Microscopic visualization of micro‐morphological characters were analyzed using a scanning electron microscopic (SEM) tool, which has proven to be very successful to analyze the pollen surface peculiarities. The significant goal of this research was to perform microscopic examination of pollen of some of the most frequently visited honeybee floral species around apiaries. Micro‐morphological characterization of frequented honeybees foraged plants were discussed. A total of 15 species, belonging to 11 different families were identified for the foraging activities of honeybees, namely, Lantana camara, Jatropha integerrima, Helianthus annuus, Tecoma stans, Lagerstroemia indica, Duranta erecta, Cosmos sulphureus, Hymenocollis littoralis, Moringa oleifera, Cestrum nocturnum, Parthenium hysterophorus, Volkameria inermis, Catharanthus roseus, Malvastrum coromandelianum, and Citharexylum spinosum. The microscopic slides were prepared using the acetolysis method, and the qualitative and quantitative features were measured and described using microscopic tools. The pollen type sculpture varies from psilate scabrate to echinate and colpi from tricolpate to tetracolpate. Quantitative parameters such as polar diameter, mesocolpium distance, equatorial dimensions, aperture size, spine diameter, and exine thickness were calculated using IBM SPSS Statistics 20. The exine thickness was measured at its maximum in C. roseus (3.85 μm), whereas it was at its minimum of 0.90 μm in L. indica and D. erecta. Pollen fertility was estimated to be highest in H. annus (88%). The current research validates scanning microscopic features of pollen of the honeybee floral species, which is helpful for the accurate identification and commercializing of honey production to generate revenue for beekeepers through the exploration of bee floral diversity. Research Highlights Pollen spectrum examination using microscopic imaging techniques. Variations examined through scanning microscopy in pollen ultrastructure. Micro‐morphology has taxonomic value for accurate identification of honeybee flora. Authentication of Honeybee floral species for sustainable beekeeping.

Studies of the pollen characteristics and the taxonomic significance of Impatiens from the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau

“…The reticulate pattern increases the structural strength and surface friction coefficient of pollen, which helps them interact with insects and increases the ability of insects to carry the pollen (Attique et al, 2022). In our classification based on pollen quantitative characteristics, we found that polar axis length, equatorial axis length and pollen size played an important role in the classification of Impatiens, which was similar to the results of most plant pollen studies (Zafar et al, 2022).…”

“…The statistical data of Microsoft Excel YEAR (Redmond, WA, USA) were used, and SPSS 26.0 (IBM, Inc., Armonk, NY, USA) was used for correlation, principal component and system clustering analyses (Pérez-Gutiérrez et al, 2015;Zafar et al, 2022). The number of sepals (NS), which is one of the important bases for the classification of Impatiens, was added as a reference index to compare the importance of pollen characteristics during the analysis of indices.…”

Pollen Visualization of Turkish Flora of Selected Plant Species under Light, Scanning, and Transmission Microscopy

“…Primarily, the investigation of morphological diversity in pollen is directly concerned with the classification of plants [18,19]. Palyno-morphological characteristics are fruitful for solving various taxonomic problems at species, genus, and family levels [7,[20][21][22].…”