Botanical composition of pollen collected by Apis mellifera L. from Uludağ, northwest Türkiye

Abstract

In recent years, the value of bee pollen has been recognised with the commercial value increasing. Determing the plant taxa that bees prefer as pollen sources and the floristic characteristics of the region is important for hive management and productivity. In this study, the botanical composition of bee pollen collected by Apis mellifera L. on the southern slopes of Uludağ (Bursa, Türkiye) was examined and the plant composition of the region, which is important for beekeeping, was evaluated. During the 2021 beekeeping period (between April and August), pollen loads were collected every two weeks. Colour differences of pollen loads were used to determine the botanical character of pollen samples. According to the data obtained from the analysis of pollen samples, 51 plant taxa belonging to 30 families visited by Apis mellifera L. were identified. Fabaceae (21.06%), Asteraceae (12.73%), Rosaceae (11.97%), and Brassicaceae (11.50%) were found to be the families containing the most preferred plants by honey bees. Herbaceous plants were visited by honey bees to collect pollen at the highest frequency of 77.60%, trees at 10.22%, and shrubs at 9.51% during the season. Tree forms were visited at a frequency of 5.25% in the second period of May, herbaceous forms were visited at a frequency of 20.50% in the first period of June, and shrub forms were visited at a frequency of 2.67% in the second period of June. These data demonstrate that the region has abundant resources for beekeeping, which contributes to the protection of the ecosystem and the economy.

Keywords:

• Baraklı region
• Bursa
• floral resources
• melissopalynology
• palynological characterisation

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank for planning of this study Prof. Dr Hulusi Malyer who passed away on 10 November 2020 due to a heart attack during the treatment of COVID-19. The authors would like to thank Dr Utku Çopur, Dr Arzu Akpınar Beyazıt and Dr Kader Çetin for their support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Bursa Uludağ University Scientific Research Council (Project no: FBO-2020-188).