Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) present in the flowers of the balsa wood Ochroma lagopus Swartz, 1788

Abstract

The flower of balsa wood holds about 10 to 15 mL of nectar, which helps attracting pollinating agents, since the genus Ochroma is incapable of self-fertilization. However, a high mortality of bees is observed in these flowers. The present study investigated the frequency and constancy of mortality of the individuals of the family Apidae that fed on nectar from the balsa wood. Data was gathered from June to August 2008, in Lavras - Minas Gerais State, Brazil. In addition, the survival of the Africanized bees that fed on the nectar of this flower was compared to those that fed on 50% aqueous solution of honey. Forty flowers were analyzed, and 949 individuals of the orders Hymenoptera (98.1%), Hemiptera (0.95%), Coleoptera (0.74%) and Diptera (0.21%) were collected. Most Hymenoptera individuals were bees of the genera Partamona and Trigona (677 individuals), which were considered of constant occurrence. Flowers producing up to 16.7 nectar mL were found. The nectar diet contained 16.44% of total sugar, and resulted in low survival of the bees in laboratory (31.32 ± 2.37 hours), compared to a diet of 50% aqueous solution of honey (112.32 ± 2.03 hours).