POLLEN CALENDAR OF SIX STINGLESS BEE SPECIES AT TAMAN PERTANIAN SEKAYU, TERENGGANU

Siti Nur Syafiqah Mohamad Hanapi; Norasmah  Basari; Shamsul Bahri  Abd Razak

Siti Nur Syafiqah Mohamad Hanapi Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Norasmah Basari Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Shamsul Bahri Abd Razak Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Keywords: Stingless bee, pollen, eusocial, relative abundance, meliponiculture

Abstract

A stingless bee is a eusocial insect from the Meliponine family living in a perennial colony that comprises a queen, workers and drones. They forage nectar, pollen and resin for their provision. This study aims to identify flower preferences among six stingless bee species (Geniotrigona thoracica, Heterotrigona itama, Lepidotrigona terminata, Tetragonula fuscobalteata, Tetragonula minor, and Tetragonula testaceitarsis) and records a pollen calendar for the full 12 months of observation. Stingless bees’ pollen samples were collected from the corbicula of returning foragers once a month. The pollens were dispersed in distilled water and observed under a compound microscope to record pollen morphology. Microscopy observation showed variations in pollen size and shapes, indicating stingless bee preferences for a variety of flowers throughout the year. Eighty plant species were identified based on pollen references collected at the sampling site. L. terminata and T. fuscobalteata showed similar preferences in flowers (Citrofortunella microcarpa), while pollens preferred by G. thoracica, H. itama, T. minor and T. testaceitarsis were Emilia sonchifolia, Muntingia calabura, Ardisia crispa and Lantana camara, respectively. The preferred plants flower all year round. The results from this study could help beekeepers in managing the bee escape that provides food sources for stingless bees, thus ensuring a sustainable meliponiculture in Malaysia.