The behaviour of honey bee Apis mellifera L. that visit Rosmary flower Rosmarinus officinalis L. in Al-Gabal Alakhaer region

• Ali A. Bataw

  Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al-Bayda, Libya, P.O. 919 .

  Author

  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8711-0389

• Intisar B. Lamin

  Faculty of Natural Resources - Omar Al-Mukhtar University - Al-Bayda / Libya, P.O. 743 .

  Author

The study revealed that Rosemary flowers offer a basic nutrient (Nectar and Pollen grains) to the insect visitors during the period extended from the end of December until the end of May. The nectar secretion and the pollen grains production fluctuated during a day and from day to another during the flowering time and that affected the foraging behavior of honey bees. The bees choose to collect pollen and nectar at the begging of the day where the amount of both nectar and pollen grains in the back. The insect spent about 1.5 second to collect nectar in each flower and about 1.7 second to travel from flower to another; the study investigated the relationship between the corolla length of the flower and the mouth part length of the insect. Also the study shows that the honeybee can be considered as one of the main pollinators for Rosemary flowers in Al-Gabel Al Akhdar region.

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