UNIT 1 BEE FLORA

Structure
1.0 Aims and Objectives

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Importance of Bee Pasturage and their Relative Utility to Honey Bees

1.3 Floral Map and Floral Calendar

1.4 Nectar Potential of Major Bee Floras

1.5 Development of Bee Pasturage

1.6 Let Us Sum Up

1.7 Key Words

1.8 Further References

1.9 Model Answers

1.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit, you will be able to:

• assess the nature of flora suitable for the honey bees; and

• prepare a floral map and calendar for establishing an apiary.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
We know that Indi,ais one of the leading mega biodiversity countries of the world
to have more than 750 species of bee flora. It is estimated that majority of the
floral resources of India is still urider or unutilized. The existing bee flora in the
country can very well support to 150-200 million colonies of bees but presently
there are barely one million colonies tapping nectar from 0.5-0.7 per cent of the
available bee floras.

Honey bee is a social insect with excellent colony organisation. They have co-
evolved with angiosperm plants during the course of evolutionary process for
mutual benefit, Bees depend solely upon the flowering plants to fulfill their dietary
requirements and in turn render pollination of the plants. The proper pollinated
plants produce good quality seeds for further perpetuation in the nature. The diet
of the honey bees is composed chiefly of carbohydrates which they derive
from the nectar. Nectar is a sugar solution in the flower secreted by special glands
called nectaries. Nectar consists mainly of carbohydrates which provide energy
to bees. Amino acids, terpenes, alkaloids, flavonoids, vitamins and oils are the
other fractions presents in the nectar. Many dicotyledonous plants use this nectar
to attract pollinating insects. The bees also draw protein and other nutrients from
the pollen of the flowers. Pollen is highly proteinaceous material produced within
the male reproductive part of the flower called anther. Honey bees require pollen
essentially for their brood rearing. The hive bees, especially Apis mellifora L. and
the sting less bees Trigona irridipennis Smith also collect enough natural resin
5
from plants called propolis which is used for construction of their nest and defense.
Bee Flora and Pollination The plant species which produce nectar, pollen, extra floral nectaries or propolis
are visited by bees for one or the other material. These plant species are known
as Bee flora or Bee pasturage or Bee forage.

1.2 IMPORTANCE OF BEE PASTURAGE AND

THEIR RELATIVE UTILITY TO HONEY
BEES
You might have seen a flying honey bee around the flower. We have already
discussed the honey bees depend upon the flowering plants for their dietary
requirements. The flowering plants include fruit, vegetable, oilseed, ornamental,
herb, shrub, bush, forest or avenue plants. The locations which are rich in nectar
and pollen yielding plants for longer duration are ideal for beekeeping. In spite of
rich bee flora, every region exhibits a Floral Dearth period of variable durations.
During this period very few or hardly any flower providing nectar or pollen are
available to the bees. This is a very critical period in beekeeping. During this
period, you have to take adequate measures to prevent the decline in bee population
and their desertion.

The nectar and pollen production potential of plants vary widely due to their
taxonomy, geographic distribution, age, season etc. Floral characteristics viz.
flowering time, length of flowering, flower density, color of petals, amount, location
and nutritional status of nectar and pollen influence the acceptability of a plant to
the honey bees. Bees can distinguish green, blue, white and violet coloured
flowers but insensitive to red flowers. Bees prefer flowers secreting nectar with
higher sugar content.

Considering the richness of available nectar and pollen, crop coverage in a locality
and acceptability of the species for bee foraging, the plant species of a locality
may be categorized into three utility groups as described below:

1) Major utility group Rich source of nectar, pollen or both.

Abundant crop coverage (may be

seasonal).

Frequently foraged by bees.

2) Medium utility group Rich or moderate source of nectar, pollen

or both.

Area under crop coverage is poor.

Moderately foraged by bees.

3) Minor utility group Poor source of nectar or pollen.

Less area coverage.

Occasionally foraged by bees.

Plenty of information on occurrence of the species of bee flora and their

relative utility to bees from different agro-climatic zones of the country is available.
A precise annotated list of important bee flora of our country with their
flowering period and dietary source for the honey bees is presented in Table 1.1
6 (These floras fall under major utility group).
 Bee Flora
Table 1.1: Important Indian Bee Flofa .

SI. Plants Species Common /English/ Flowering Dietary Source

No. HindiName Period** For Bees

I Mangifera indica Mango Mar-April NP*

2 Cocus nucifera Coconut Jan-Dec. NP
3 Citrus spp. Lemon/orange etc. Mar.-May NP

4 Terminalia arjuna Arjun May-June NP

5 Helianthus annuus Sunflower May-Sept. NP

6 Plectranthus rugosus Plectranthus Aug.-Sept. N
7 Carica papaya Papaya July-Aug. NP
8 Brassica campestris Sarson Jan-March NP
9 B. campestris var toria Toria Oct-Nov. NP
10 B. oleracea Cauliflower Feb.-March NP
11 B. rapa Turnip Feb.-March NP

12 Raphanus sativa Raddish Feb-March NP

\3 Eruca sativa Taramira Feb.-March NP

14 fberis amara Candy!uft Jan.-March NP
15 Cucumis melo Muskmelon April-June NP
16 Cucumis sativus Kheera May-Sep. NP
17 Citrullus fistulosus Tinda April-Oct. NP
18 Citrullus lanatus Watermelon April-June NP
19 Cucurbita pepo Chapankadu April-June NP

20 Luffa acutangula Kali tori May-Oct. NP

21 Momordica moschata Pumpkin April-July NP
22 Zea mays Maize July-Aug. P
23 Sorghum vulgare Sorghum July-Aug. P
24 Pennisetum typhoides Bajra June-July P
25 Cajanus cajan Arhar April-May NP
26 Cicer arietinum Bengal gram Feb.- March NP

27 Medicago sativa Lucern Mar-May NP

28 Trifolium alexandrium Berseem Mar-May NP
29 Crotolaria juncea Sun hemp Sept.-Oct. N
30 Pisum sativum Pea Jan.-Mar. NP
31 Allium cepa Onion May-June NP
32 Allium sativum Garlic May-June NP
33 Althea ofJicinales Holly hock April-July NP
34 Abelmoschus esculentus Okra April-Sept. NP

35 Morus alba Mulberry Feb.- March P

36 Pongamia glabra Pugam/Karanj Mar.- April N

37 Psidium guajava Guava May-June NP
38 Syzygium cumini Jamun May-June NP
39 Eucalyptus sp. Nilgiri Mar-May NP 7
Bee Flora and Pollination SI. Plants Species Common !English! Flowering Dietary Source
No. HindiName Period** For Bees
40 Callistemon lanceolatus Bottle brush Mar-April N

41 Sesamum indicum Til July-Aug. NP

42 Zizypus spp. ' Ber June-Nov. NP

43 Pyrus pashia Kantha . Mar.-April NP

44 Rosa spp. Rose Jan.-Dec. NP

45 Cannabis sativa Bhang July-Aug. P

46 Vitis vinifera Grape Mar.-April NP

47 Vitax negundo Bana May-Aug. NP

48 Lantana camara Lantana Mar-Sept. NP

49 Azadirachta indica Neem April-May NP

* N-nectar, P-polIen

** The flowering period of varies in different seasons and agro-climatic regions.

1.3 FLORAL MAP AND FLORAL CALENDAR

Till now you have learnt about the importance of plant species in beekeeping
during different seasons. You may recall that flowers are not available during some
period of a year. This period is called dearth period. Here come the importance
of Floral Map and Floral calendar.

In scientific beekeeping, three species of bees viz. Indian hive bee, (Apis cerena
indica), Italian bees (Apis mellifera) and the stingless bees (Trigona irridipennis)
have been successfully hived, managed and utilized for production of honey, other
hive products and managed bee pollination.

Development of floral map and floral calendar of a particular locality /region is a

prerequisite for planned stationary and migratory beekeeping with any of the bee
species.

Preparation of the floral map and floral calendar can be done by adopting the
following steps:

i) Through seasonal survey of the locality to identify nectar and pollen yielding
plants and recording the bee activities.

ii) Recording flowering time and duration.

ill) Checking whether the flora is source of surplus honey collection or not.

It is very simple to identify a nectar and pollen yielding plant species in your
locality. Simply observe the movement of bee around the flower. If the bees sit
on the flower then it should be marked as nectar containing flower. Nectar
collecting bees insert their tongue in the nectaries and identify the suitability of the
flora for the source of pollen or nectar. The Photographs of some of the bee flora
have been given on Plate 1 and 2.

-Pollen forages can be recognized by the collected pollens in the pollen basket
located in the meta thoracic or hind legs. Such bees work on anthers to collect
8 pollen.
 Bee Flora

Fig. 1.1 : Pollen baskets

A person intending to start beekeeping must have adequate knowledge about the
potentiality of bee flora of the locality within a radius of 1-3 km. Floral map and
floral calendar related to beekeeping of different states are available. The beekeeper
should collect such information and if not available, he/she should prepare the
same for his/her locality.

Apis mellifera bees generally visit flowers within 1-3 km radius. The A. cerana
indica covers 1-1.5 km. Thus, for a successful beekeeping, abundant bee flora
with extended period of flowering should be available within this range around the
apiary. Further, density of bee hives in a unit area depends upon richness of
available flora. Over crowding of bee hives will lead to the poor honey yield as
well as other complications such as drifting and robbing.

Based on the consistent surveys, the desired information is collected. This

information can be depicted in various ways implying status of bee pasturage in
relation to beekeeping. Scientists of Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana
(Punjab) after three decades of beekeeping research had prepared beekeeping
zones based on the density of bee flora available and number of colonies suitably
utilized to explore these floras (Table 1.2). A pictorial illustration of the bee flora
developed by Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneshwar
(Oris sa) is presented in Fig. 1.2.
Table 1.2: Bee Production Zones Developed Based on the Availability Floral Map

SI. Name of the Zone Area or District Important Bee Flora

No.

1. High productivity Zone Gurdaspur, Egyptian clover, Sunflower,

Amritsar, Rape seed mustard,
Hosiarpur, Eucalyptus, Pear, Shisham
Ropar Litchi, Citrus

2. Medium productivity Zone Kapurthala, Egyptian clover,

Jalandhar Eucalyptus, Pigeon pea
Ludhiana, Sunflower, Mustard,
Patiala, Shisham and Cotton (in
Fatehgarhsahib parts of Rajpura)

3. Low productivity Zone Faridkot Egyptian clover,

Ferozepur Eucalyptus, Indian
Bhatinda Mustard, Cotton, Citrus
Sangrur
Mansa
Muktsar

Some parts of Bhatinda and Manas have good potential for visiting the bee
colonies to Indian mustard during December-February.
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Bee Flora and Pollination
WESTBEffGAL

f
s

-.
l
'.

Fig. 1.2: The productive zones (Highly potential, Potential, Moderately potential and
Low potential) of Orissa, ear marked for beekeeping based on floral map

Floral Calendar of a locality guides the beekeeper for efficient bee management
to derive maximum benefit from beekeeping. Every region rich in bee flora has
a floral dearth period. Similarly, the region amenable for beekeeping has honey
flow period of reasonably longer duration. The calendar months when appreciable
number of bee floras produce ample nectar is called as Major honey flow
season and when the bee flora yield low quantum of nectar is called Minor
honey flow season. Period when nectar availability is very scanty it is referred
to as Dearth period. A Minor dearth period is often experienced between
minor and major honey flow seasons. A typical status of bee flora and honey flow
period of coastal Orissa is depicted in Table 1.3 and Fig. 1.3.

Calendar months, duration and number of honey flow and dearth period vary
from one location to other. Area with short duration of dearth period, one or two
major honey flow period of longer duration and remaining period with minor
honey flow is the ideal location for beekeeping. Major honey flow coincides in
general with the warm summer months of April-May and the dearth period with
monsoon months of June-July.
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 Bee Flora
Table 1.3: Status of Bee Flora and Honey Flow Period of Coastal Orissa

SI.No. Status of Honey Flow Period (month) Bee flora Available

1) Major Honey flow Feb.-May Lemon, Tamarind, Mahua,

Mango, Karanja, Jamun, Neem,
Sesamum, Niger, Sunflower,
Maize, Capsicum

2) Dearth period June-Sept. Papaya, Bitter gourd, Okra,

Brinjal, Guava, Moringa, some
flowering Weeds

3) Minor Honey flow Oct.-Dec. Brassica, Niger, Sesamum,

Sunflower, Maize, Capsicum,
Moringa, Rose Crysanthemum,
Onion

4) Minor Dearth period January Brassica, Moringa, Rose,

Crysanthemum

HONEY FLOW AND DEARTH PERIOD OF BEE

FLORA IN ORISSA

.MAJOR HONEY FLOW - ( February -May)

DEARTH - ( June -Sestem ber)
MINOR HONEY FLOW - ( October-December)
oMINOR DEARTH - (January)
,
Fig. 1.3 : Honey flow and dearth period in Orissa

1.4 NECTAR POTENTIAL OF MAJOR BEE

FLORAS
In beekeeping, the availability of nectar and pollen for the consumption of bees
is essential. A good number of bee floras have been recognized as high potential
source of the nectar or pollen by many scientists and progressive beekeepers
through their keen observations and experiences. However, information based on
true estimate of potentiality of bee flora in this regard is very scanty.
The following few plants have been estimated for their nectar production potential:
Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus tree on an average produces 4.0 lakh flowers yielding
15.5 kg of nectar having 54.7% sugar concentration. Thus, Eucalyptus tree
producing nectar equivalent to llkg of honey. This tree has been identified as one
of the high potential floral sources to honey bees.
Pigeon pea (Arhar): Pigeon Pea on an average produces 88 x 10 flowers
yielding 106 kg of nectar/ha. The nectar sugar concentration of the crop is
estimated to be 38 per cent. Thus, pigeon pea produces nectar equivalent to
50 kg honey/ha. 1]
Bee Flora and Pollination Brassica spp.: One hectare of Brassica campestris var. Toria crop produces
390 million flowers with an average of 0.242mg nectarlflower. The mean
Total Soluble Sugar value of its nectar is 40.4 per cent. Thus, on an average,
one hectare Toria crop produces 94.38 kg nectar equivalent to 47.7 kg
honey. Honey production potential of B. nap us has been estimated to be
11.98 kg.

1.5 DEVELOPMENT OF BEE PASTURAGE

Bee pasturage is a prime factor in successful beekeeping. India with great diversity
of climate and geographic location, supports varied types of vegetations and
cultivated crops. Even then, any locality chosen for beekeeping is not free from
floral dearth. Through a systematic programme of afforestation, it is possible to
develop continuous bee pasturage by judicious selection of bee friendly plant
species. Bee pasturage development programmes may be undertaken with any
non-government or government programmes like Integrated Rural Development
Programme (IRDP) or National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme
(NREGP). This will lead to continuous availabilityof nectar and pollen for successful
beekeeping in addition to the aesthetic value, healthy environment and overall
economic return to the people of the locality.

Plectranthus Hollyh9ck Bottle Brush Canabis

Onion Sunhemp Luffa

Taramira Arjuna Ponqarnla

Plate 1: Bee Floras

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 Bee Flora

Sun Flower Niger Mustard

Seasamum Maize • Pumpkin

Pongamia Neem Tamarind Eucalyptus

Plate 2: Bee Floras

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

Note: 1) Space is given below for answers.
2) Compare your answers with that given at the end of the unit.

1) What is the importance of bee pasturage in beekeeping?

2) How can you identify a nectar and pollen yielding plant?

...................................................................................................................
3) What approach do you suggest to develop bee pasturage in your locality?

•••••••••••••• 0.0 •••••••••••••••••••••••• 0 •••••••• ; •••••••••••••••• 0.0.0 •••••••• 0 •••••• 0.0 ••••• ,_ •••••••••••••••••

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Bee Flora and Pollination
1.6 LET US SUM UP
The plant species which support the growth and development of the honey in
terms of providing the required nectar are termed as Bee flora. The nectar is
available in the flowers of the plants. The suitability of the flora depends upon the
liking and disliking of the nectar by the honey bees. The availability of the bee
flora in a location determines the potential of the area for the honey production.
Suitable bee flora with well distribution of the flower availability over the time is
essential for rearing of the healthy bees. Sometimes in a year the flowers are
absent. This period is called dearth period. During this period, special care is
required to maintain the honey bees. The detailed description about the maintenance
of the honey bees during different stressed periods is explained in the Course 2.
The healthy bees with healthy bee floras produce healthy honey.

1.7 KEY WORDS

Bee Flora Group of flowering plants having nectar and
pollen in their flowers suitable to honey bee
growth and development.
Bee Pasturage Group of plants that are visited by bees either
for nectar or pollen.
Floral Fidelity/Constancy Visiting flowers of a particular crop in
consecutive foraging trips for a long period.

1.8 FURTHER REFERENCES

Abrol, D.P. (1997). Bees and Beekeeping in India, Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi,
pp450.
Singh S. (1982). Beekeeping in India. Indian Council of Agricultural Research,
New Delhi, India.

1.9 MODEL ANSWERS

Check Your Progress Exercise 1
1) Bees depend solely upon the bee pasturage to fulfill their dietary requirement.
The diet of honey bees is composed chiefly of carbohydrates and the vitamins,
which they derive from the nectar and the pollen of the flowers respectively.
Further, Pollen is required essentially for brood rearing in bees and no suitable
substitute for pollen is developed so far.
2) Pollen yielding plant is easily recognized by observing the pollen basket in the
meta thoracic or hind pair of legs of the bees which is laden with pollen
pellets while foraging on a crop while the nectar yielding plant is identified
by observing the glistening drop of liquid ejaculated from honey stomach
when anterior region of the abdomen of the bee is pressed a little while
returning after foraging the plant.
3) Primarily the aforestation is the answer. Now how it can be executed depends
upon the schemes or available resources with the locality. The schemes of
Govt. like NREGS may be implemented for aforestation programmes. The
14 flowering plants which are visited by the honey bees should be promoted.