Melissopalynology of honey from the tropical central corridor of the Atlantic Forest, Bahia State, Brazil

Abstract

The Central Corridor of the Atlantic Forest is noted for its biodiversity of flora and fauna, with a high number of endemic species. Studies that characterise the tropical bee flora and bee products in these areas are scarce. This study therefore sought to characterise the pollen spectrum of honey from Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in some municipalities found in the Central Corridor of the Atlantic Forest, in Bahia, Brazil. A total of 16 honey samples from Belmonte, Camacan, Eunápolis, Itabela, Itabuna, Ilhéus, Medeiros Neto, and Valença were analysed. The honey was acetolysed and the mounted slides were analysed under light microscopy, from which at least 500 pollen types per sample were counted. In total, 60 pollen types with botanically determined origin were found, comprising 52 genera in 24 families. For this study, pollen types having a prevalence equal to or greater than 10% in the samples were emphasised. Thus, we found 14 most representative pollen types, related to eight families. Fabaceae was the richest, with a total of four recorded pollen types, of which Mimosa pudica stood out, found in 56.2% of samples. Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) had a high frequency distribution, especially in Belmonte, Eunápolis, Valença, and Medeiros Neto, where it was a predominant pollen, due to reforestation with Eucalyptus spp. for commercial purposes in these municipalities. In addition, Alternanthera brasiliana and Chamaecrista were predominant pollen in samples from Camacan and Medeiros Neto, respectively. The similarity analysis revealed the environmental heterogeneity of this tropical region.

Keywords:

• palynology
• botanical origin
• apiculture
• north-eastern Brazil

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Paulino P. Oliveira and the staff of the Laboratory of Plant Micromorphology at the Bahia State University at Feira de Santana, Brazil, for their support during the laboratory processing of some of the honey samples. Thanks also to Agatha C. Pinto, for help with the photomicrographs. This work was supported by the Bahia State Research Support Foundation (Fapesb) under Process APP0011/2016; and Federal University of Southern Bahia under Grant Pibipci 06/2016-PIS59-2016, and Notice PROPPG 07/2022, Process 23746.002054/2022-52. The authors are also indebted to the editor and anonymous reviewers for their careful reading and helpful comments.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

Bahia State Research Support Foundation (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia – Fapesb), and Federal University of Southern Bahia (Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia – UFSB).