Foraging activities of stingless bees, Geniotrigona thoracica and Heterotrigona itama (Apidae: Meliponini) in relation to wet and dry seasons in Selangor, Malaysia
This study reports the influence of wet and dry seasons on foraging activities of Geniotrigona thoracica and Heterotrigona itama in tropical climate of Malaysia. Foraging activities of the two bee species were recorded monthly from September 2014 to August 2015. Two methods of monitoring and coun...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pusat Sistematik Serangga, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2021
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18989/1/49127-173416-1-PB.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18989/ https://ejournal.ukm.my/serangga/issue/view/1448/showToc |
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| Summary: | This study reports the influence of wet and dry seasons on foraging activities of Geniotrigona
thoracica and Heterotrigona itama in tropical climate of Malaysia. Foraging activities of the
two bee species were recorded monthly from September 2014 to August 2015. Two methods
of monitoring and counting the activities of the two species of stingless bees, (1) bees hovering
in and bees hovering out (FIFO), and (2) bees collecting the pollen and bees bringing the nectar
to their nest were recorded using a hand manual counter about 1 m2 from the nest entrance of
each species studied. This study showed the wet season recorded the highest foraging activities
for both species, with G. thoracica and H. itama incurred the highest number of flights in (FI)
in January 2015 (FI G. thoracica = 12,303 individuals: FI H. itama = 12,011 individuals). This
study also showed the lowest foraging activities for both species in dry season with the lowest
number of flights in (FI) recorded for G. thoracica observed in September 2014 (4880
individuals) while H. itama showed in May 2015 (2168 individuals). Thus, the foraging
activities of these bees might be affected by other environmental aspects such as the
composition of flora species surrounding the stingless bee meliponiculture. |
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