Abstract

AGUILAR SIERRA, Clara Isabel  and  SMITH PARDO, Allan Henry. BEES VISITING Aspilia tenella (KUNTH) S .F.  BLAKE (ASTERACEAE): FORAGING BEHAVIOR AND POLLEN LOADS. Rev. Fac. Nac. Agron. Medellín [online]. 2008, vol.61, n.2, pp.4576-4587. ISSN 0304-2847.

We observed the behavior of 23 species of wild bees visiting Aspilia tenella (Kunth) S .F. Blake in four different localities of the Porce II dam influence zone ( Antioquia, Colombia ). We recorded number of individuals and total time spent per visit and we measured the temperature and relative humidity. The analyses of the pollen loads showed that out of the thirty pollen types, A. tenella represented the most common of all pollen types, followed by pollen types of Piper aduncum, Miconia minuti flora, Psidium guajava, Rapanea sp., Mimosa pudica y Psychotria sp., in that order. Grouping analyses for the collected bees produced two groups: first, a group of 18 species of bees whose pollen loads had more than 77% of A. tenella pollen grains; and the second group with five species of wild bees whose pollen loads were more abundant in other types of pollen:  Exomalopsis sp. 2 (90,4% of M. minuti flora); Lasioglossum sp. 1 and Coelioxys aff. mexicana (77,4% and 64,1% of  P. aduncum, respectively); Exomalopsis sp. 2 (67,1% of P. guajava) and Auglochloropsis vesta (55,5% of Rapanea sp.). Trigona fulviventris and Apis mellifera showed the highest richness of pollen types in their pollen loads; this is an evidence of their broad trophic niches and overall generalist feeding habits.

Keywords : Palynological analysis; pollen types; bees; pollen loads; pollination.

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