Foraging activities of stingless bee (meliponula bocandei) on selected forage plant species in Nakyesasa, Namulonge, Wakiso district

Abstract

Meliponula bocandei is one of the stingless bees that was recently domesticated in Uganda for its products. They have been noticed to forage on some plant species. However, their foraging activities on different forage species still remains poorly understood and understudied despite its importance in identifying the effectiveness of the species in crop pollination. This study aimed at investigating the floral visitation activities of M. bocandei on selected forage species in Nakyesasa, Wakiso district at NaLIRRI site. Focal observations during different time strata of the day (morning 8:30 am to 10:30 am; afternoon 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm; and evening hours 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm) were conducted on bees visiting flowers of Lantana camara, Tithonia diversifolia and Momordica foetida. Counts of M. bocandei foragers per minute were made in intervals of five minutes. The findings indicated that there was a significant difference in visitation rates in the afternoon, evening and in the morning. Mean visitation rate in the afternoon (2.0999±0.21703) was significantly higher than in the evening (1.8247±0.25793) and morning (1.4471±0.30156). Visitation rates by M. bocandei on the plant species varied among different plant forage species with the mean visitation rate being highest on Lantana camara. Among the resources collected from the plants studied, pollen was mainly collected during the afternoon while nectar was majorly collected during the mornings. Based on the findings, the three plant resources should be considered relevant for M. bocandei. Further studies are needed to establish the contribution of this stingless bee to fruit and seed production in the plants investigated in this study.