Analyzing pollen content to assess honey bee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758) foraging in an urban area

Abstract

Bees play an essential role as pollinators in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. The Africanized honey bee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758) is a common species in modified ecosystems being an important pollinator for many crops, such as pepper (Capsicum spp.). In this study, we assessed the individual variation in floral resource foraging by examining the pollen loads in the corbiculae of A. mellifera workers. We sampled the bees in a pepper experimental crop for two months. We found between two and 17 pollen types in the bees' corbiculae, with a high abundance of the Fabaceae, Asteraceae, and Rubiaceae families. The pollen types ranged from 18 to 19 over the months. A. mellifera collected floral resources mainly from arboreal plants providing nectar and pollen. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding the ecological interactions between bee and plant species in agricultural areas to inform management and conservation strategies aimed at sustaining bee populations and enhancing pollination services.