Bees Diversity on Flowers of Eremanthus spp. (Asteraceae)

• Main Authors: Ana Paula de Souza Medeiros Santos, Sebastião Lourenço Assis Júnior, Anete Pedro Lourenço, Evandro Luiz Mendonça Machado
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro
• Series: Floresta e Ambiente
• Subjects: pollen analysis; pollinators; degradation
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2179-80872019000400127&lng=en&tlng=en

ABSTRACT Bees are considered important pollinators due to their fidelity to plants, enabling the maintenance of gene flow between plant species. The objective of this study was to recognize the visit of bees in two Candeia species, Eremanthus erythropappus and Eremanthus incanus (Asteraceae), as well as to analyze the pollen content carried by bees in a regeneration area. Nine samplings were taken in each plant species using entomological nets. The pollen grains were obtained in 338 bees from their legs and bodies. The species Trigona spinipes, Apis mellifera, and Bombus pauloensis were most frequent. Candeias are essential in the study area because they have high adaptive potential, but besides them, other plants are also important for attracting bees searching for pollen and/or nectar.