Abstract:
A study was conducted to
determine the insect pollinator orders
visiting sesame, fluctuation percent of
Hymenopterous fauna during flowering
period, foraging activity of the pollinating
insects belonging to Hymenoptera,
Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera orders
and foraging activity of Apis mellifera,
Anthidium sp. and Xylocopa sp. from July
15 to September 4, 2011 at four time
periods i.e., 9-11 am, 11-1 pm, 1-3 pm and
3-5 pm. Results revealed that insect
percentage of Hymenoptera order was high
followed by Lepidoptera, Diptera and
Coleoptera. The highest activity of
Hymenopterous fauna was in fourth week of
flowering period and decreased gradually in
the last weeks. Total number of pollinators
was highest at 9-11 am followed by that at
11-1 pm, 1-3 pm and 3-5 pm. Among the
bees, the number of Apis mellifera was the
maximum followed by Xylocopa sp. and
lastly Anthidium sp. at all time periods. It
was also evident that temperature, wind and
relative humidity also affect the percentage
of insects visiting sesame flowers.
