Abstract:
Autumn is a critical period
for honey bee colonies and the weak
colonies during autumn are likely to be lost
during winter. The colonies need good
pollen sources during this period to be able
to foster enough brood, to boost colonies
survival ability during winter. The situation
is worse in desert areas where few pollen
sources are expected to be existed.
Identifying the availability of pollen sources
for honey bees at desert areas is very
essential to present appropriate
recommendations regarding colonies
feeding and suitable plants to be cultivated
in such areas. Thus, the study objective is to
identify pollen sources for honey bee
colonies during the autumn at El-Bostan
region (a region with desert nature).
Samples of bee bread were collected at
different times during autumn. The samples
were microscopically analyzed and pollen
sources were then identified. Nine plants
belong to six plant families (Pedaliaceae,
Malvaceae, Poaceae, Asteraceae,
Myrtaceae, Resedaceae, and Casuarinaceae)
were classified as major pollen sources. The
most abundant plants were casuarina and
eucalyptus during autumn. Beekeepers are
advised to supply their colonies regularly
(each two weeks) with pollen substitutes or
supplements during autumn at El-Bostan
region. Honey bee workers tend to mix
different pollen types together in bee bread
when different pollen sources are available.
The number of pollen sources in the bee
bread can be used to assess the richness
degree of any region with suitable pollen
sources to honey bees. The identified pollen
sources in this study are recommended to be
cultivated in lands with similar desert
nature, to provide honey bee colonies with
protein feeding during this critical period of
the year.
