FLORESCIMENTO INDUZIDO DA JUREMA PRETA PARA FORNECER PÓLEN À ABELHA MELÍFERA NA ESTIAGEM DA CAATINGA

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of increasing pollen supply to honey bees (Apis mellifera) during the dry season in Caatinga (shrub vegetation of NE Brazil) by inducing Mimosa tenui-flora to bloom. The work was carried out from August to December 2012 in Altamira Apícola Apiaries, situat-ed at Limoeiro do Norte – Ceará, Brazil. The experiment comprised three phases: Phase 1 – the amount of wa-ter needed to induce the blooming of Mimosa tenuiflora (T0L, T250L, T500L, T750L and T1000L); Phase 2 – Floral biology and flower visitors; Phase 3 – pollen harvested by the colonies and percentage of M. tenuiflora in the honey bee diet by sampling and comparing pollen loads from colonies placed 20m with those more than 3km away from the induced plants. Results of the Phase 1 showed that the treatments 3, 4 and 5 induced blooming, and T1000L produced a greater number of inflorescences (p <0.05). Blooming reached its peak eight days after induction. Hymenoptera represented more than 95% of floral visitors with Apis mellifera, Trigona spinipes and Melipona subnitida as the most frequent bee species. Palynological analyses carried out in phase 3 showed a significant (p<0,05) increment in pollen collection and the participation of M. tenuiflora pollen in the diet of colonies situated 20 meters from the induced plants. Induction of flowering Mimosa tenuiflora increased the supply and collection of pollen by bees in the critical period of the year, minimizing the effect of drought on the colonies.