CHECKLIST OF NECTARIFEROUS PLANTS ATTRACTIVE TO AFRICAN HONEYBEE (APIS MELLIFERA ADANSONII L.)

CHECKLIST OF NECTARIFEROUS PLANTS ATTRACTIVE TO AFRICAN HONEYBEE (APIS MELLIFERA ADANSONII L.)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of Study

 The genus Apis is evidently tropical in origin. Honeybees of the genus Apis are the most studied because of their complex lifestyle, communication systems (Nieh and Roubik, 1998; Nieh, 1998), and they role as key pollinators of wild plants and agricultural crops (Suwannapong et al., 2011; Akunne, 2015; Akunne et al., 2016).

According to Akunne (2015), honeybee (Apis mellifera) has several subspecies or regional varieties such as the Italian bee (Apis mellifera liguistica), European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera), the Carniola honeybee (Apis mellifera carnica), and the West African honeybee that are farmed (apiculture) for honey production.

The East African lowland honey bee was first introduced to Brazil in 1956 in an effort to increase honey production, but 26 swarms escaped quarantine in 1957. Since then, the hybrid has spread throughout South America and arrived in North America in 1985. Hives were found in south Texas in the United States in 1990 (Winston, 1992).

Apis mellifera adansonii is the common honeybee that has been given attention in Nigeria and other part of the West Africa zones, because of its ecological beneficial attributes which range as been an important natural agent of pollination and honey production (Mutsaers, 1991; Kumar et al., 1994). It is well adapted to the Nigeria ecological conditions (Abdullahi et. al., 2011) and gathers its own food freely throughout the year (Adjare, 1990).

African honeybees have sophisticated foraging coordination and communication specialized on nectar, or pollen foraging or both (Suwannapong, 2000). The production of honey by the African honeybee depends on the availability and abundance of nectariferous plants within easy flight range of the bee (Ayansola and Davies, 2012).

Nectariferous plants are large group of angiosperms producing nectar and pollen that are visited and gathered by honeybees for the production of honey and other products. Nectariferous plants are vital to the beekeeping industry, because honeybees live entirely on nectar and pollen for their vegetarian diet (Waykar et. al., 2014).

Nectar forms the basis of honey (Akunne et al., 2016a). It is the source of energy rich food (carbohydrate) that honeybees need to sustain the life of it colony, which without it sufficiency the colony will die out slowly (Adjare, 1990, Rahman, 2006). Pollen provides the protein, vitamins and other nutrients needed for the developing larva (Akunne et al., 2016a). Also, bee colony performance depends on bee forage plants from which honeybees obtain nectar and pollen as main food (Amsalu, 2000).

Scientific classification

Kingdom:     Animalia

Phylum:        Arthropoda

Class:            Insecta

Order:           Hymenoptera

Suborder:     Apocrita

Subfamily:   Apinae

Genus:          Apis

Species:        Apis mellifera

• Characteristics

Though African honeybees display certain behavioral traits that make them less than desirable for commercial beekeeping, excessive defensiveness and swarming foremost, they have now become the dominant type of honey bee for beekeeping in Central and South America due to their genetic dominance as well as ability to out-compete their European counterpart, with some beekeepers asserting that they are superior honey producers and pollinators.

African honeybees, as opposed to other Western bee types:

• Tend to swarmmore frequently and go farther than other types of honey bees.
• Are more likely to migrate as part of a seasonal response to lowered food supply.
• Are more likely to “abscond”—the entire colony leaves the hive and relocates—in response to stress.
• Have greater defensiveness when in a resting swarm, compared to other honey bee types.
• Live more often in ground cavities than the European types.
• Guard the hive aggressively, with a larger alarm zone around the hive.
• Have a higher proportion of “guard” bees within the hive.
• Deploy in greater numbers for defence and pursue perceived threats over much longer distances from the hive.
• Cannot survive extended periods of foragedeprivation, preventing introduction into areas with harsh winters or extremely dry late summers.
• Live in dramaticallyhigher population densities.

1.3 Justification of the Study

So far, some research works have been reported with regards to honeybee flora in some parts of southern region of Nigeria (Nnamani and Uguru, 2012) without documentation of those plants in Uyo, South-south, Nigeria, thus there is dearth of information on the list of nectariferous plants visited by honeybees in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Also, information that will be provided in this research work will help beekeepers in the state and region to have proper knowledge of the plants foraged by honeybee and thus enhancing the production of honey.

1.4 Aim and Objectives

The main aim of this research is to provide a checklist of the nectariferous plants attractive to Africa honeybee (Apis mellifera adansonii) in Uyo.

The objectives of the study are to:

1. Identify the Nectariferous plants resources that African honeybees forage on in the study areas, and
2. Identify the intensity of visitation and products of the plants resources in the study areas.

1.5       Statement of the Problem

African honeybee navigate through different plants, but they more specifically forage on Nectariferous plants that product both nectar and pollen for the building of their colony. Nevertheless, the existence of these plants in their environment is facing serious challenges and problems. These challenges range from bush burning to reckless farming system that those support the sustainability of the plants.

The availability of the Nectariferous plants is also facing problem of urbanization and industrialization since their habitat is cleared and construction carried out, thus affecting the food chain in the agroecosystem