Pollen Content in Honey of Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in an Atlântica Forest Fragment in the Municipality of Piracicaba, São Paulo State, Brazil.

Abstract

The population growth of a bee colony depends entirely on the quality and quantity of nectar and pollen sources collected by workers, since honey and pollen, a carbohydrate and a protein source, respectively, are essential for the nutrition of larvae and adults of Apis mellifera (L.) (Zerbo et al., 2001). The composition and quality of food sources as well as other factors that affect the colony growth may vary according to the region and year season (Funari et al., 2003; Marchini et al., 2006). To obtain an adequate food storage and high population growth rate, colonies need to build an optimal food inventory. The climatic conditions and food availability in the region directly affects the productive and reproductive characteristics of bee colonies. Therefore, food storage (honey and pollen), oviposition and occupation of combs are subject to seasonal variations (Modro et al., 2011).

Floral Origin and Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Honey from Africanized Bees in Apiaries of Ubiratã and Nova Aurora, State of Paraná

“…The genus Eucalyptus was present in many samples. The contribution of species of this genus as dominant pollen in honey samples was verified in other studies in the southeast region (Bastos et al, 2003;Sodré et al, 2003;Barth et al, 2005;Luz et al, 2007;Mendonça et al, 2008;Silveira et al, 2012;Araujo et al, 2013;Barth et al, 2013). The increase of this pollen type in honey samples can be explained by the increase of reforested areas with species of Eucalyptus.…”

“…Considering the pollen types present in the samples, the families Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Mimosaceae and Myrtaceae were also frequent in other studies in the southern and southeastern regions, with similar vegetation Araujo et al, 2013;Bosco & Luz, 2017).…”

Botanical origin, microbiological quality and physicochemical composition of the Melipona scutellaris pot-pollen (“samburá”) from Bahia (Brazil) Region

“…Lower pH values were observed in pollen from Melipona (Santa-B arbara et al, 2015) and A. mellifera (De-Melo et al, 2016). The range found for total acidity (237.20 to 557.10 meq/kg) was very different from that found in other studies with M. scutellaris and other Meliponini species (Almeida-Anacleto et al, 2009;Alves et al, 2018a). The lower pH and high acidity values found in this work may be related to the chemical reactions that occur during the pollen fermentation process, promoted by microorganisms (Ellis & Hayes, 2009;Kalaycıo glu et al, 2017).…”