Bees Visiting Alfalfa Plant in Turkey and Megachile rotundata F. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

Year 2008, Volume: 08 Issue: 1, 17 - 25, 25.02.2008

Hikmet Özbek

Abstract

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a cross-pollinated plant and tripping is considered to be a prerequisite of cross-fertilization. The structure of the alfalfa flower is especially adapted for pollination by bees. Since 1980s the observations and collections have been conducted in various provinces of Turkey revealed that about 150 species of bees (Apiformes: Apoidea) including, honey bee, in five families of 30 genera visited alfalfa flowers in Turkey, which is located in the area, where alfalfa supposedly originated. Of these, Rophites canus Ev., Andrena ovatula (Kr.), A..labialis (Kr.) Melitturga clavicornis Latr., Melitta leporina Pr., Megachile apicalis Sp., M. pilidens Alf., M. rotundata F., Anthidium oblongatum (Ill.), Anthophora aestivalis Pz., A. atroalba Lep., Eucera cineraria Ev., E. clypeata Erichson, E. interrupta Boes., E. nigrescens Perez, E. pollinosa Sm., Tetralonia hungarica Fr., T. tricincta Ev., T. graja Ev., Bombus argillaceus Scop., B. armeniacus Rad., B. sylvarum daghestanicus Rad., B. incertus Mor., and B. niveatus Kriech. are the most valuable pollinators of alfalfa in this country, particularly Rophites canus, Melitturga clavicornis, Melitta leporine, Bombus armeniacus, B. sylvarum daghestanicus, and B. incertus have special importance in this respect. The remaining species showed scattered occurrence, the relative importance of different species varied greatly from place to place. It is worthy to indicate that they are important in some restricted locations. It should be emphasized that the populations of wild bees in alfalfa growing areas as well as whole country, in all habitats, are declining rapidly. In Turkey most of the natural habitats have been destroyed in the landscape for the sake of agriculture, industry, road construction, recreation and urban development. Additionally, burning stubble and wheat straws left in the field after harvest, to make ploughing easier, is a practice may be peculiar to Turkey, causes the burning of neighboring huge natural lands. This practice causes to kill the bees directly and gives important damage to nest sites, nest-building materials and food sources. Consequently, if habitat changes and destructions and irregular usage of pesticides continue at its present rate some of the species could well become endangered. To solve pollination problem in alfalfa Megachile rotundata should be imported and started to use in the pollination of alfalfa in Turkey, as a number of countries have been doing so.

Keywords

Alfalfa, pollinators, Rophites canus, Melitturga clavicornis, Melitta leporina, Bumble bees, decline pollinators, chile rotundata

Türkiye’de Yonca Bitkisini Ziyaret Eden Arı Türleri ve Megachile rotundata F. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

Abstract

Yonca (Medicago sativa L.), yabancı tozlaşmaya gereksinim duyan bir bitki olup döllenme fırlama olayının gerçekleşmesi ile vuku bulmaktadır. Bunu da etkili bir şekilde ancak arılar yapabilmektedir. 1980‟li yıllardan günümüze kadar ülkenin değişik yörelerinden toplanan beş familyaya bağlı 30 cinse ait 150‟ye yakın arı türünün yonca çiçeklerini ziyaret ettiği belirlenmiştir. Bunlar arasında; Rophites canus Ev., Andrena ovatula (Kr.), A labialis (Kr.) Melitturga clavicornis Latr., Melitta leporina Pr., Megachile apicalis Sp., M. pilidens Alf., M. rotundata F., Anthidium oblongatum (Ill.), Anthophora aestivalis Pz., A. atroalba Lep., Eucera cineraria Ev., E. clypeata Erichson, E. interrupta Boes., E. nigrescens Perez, E. pollinosa Sm., Tetralonia hungarica Fr., T.tricincta Ev., T. graja Ev., Bombus argillaceus Scop., B. armeniacus Rad., B. sylvarum daghestanicus Rad., B. incertus Mor. ve B. niveatus Kriech. türleri ülkemizde yoncanın en etkili tozlayıcılarıdır. Vurgulamak gerekir ki, ülkemizde yonca bitkisini ziyaret eden arı türlerinin yoğunlukları ciddi bir şekilde azalmaktadır. Habitatlardaki değişiklikler, tahribatlar ve düzensiz pestisit kullanımı bu oranda devam ettiği sürece birçok türler yok olmanın eşiğine geleceklerdir. Bu nedenle, çok önemli bir polinatör olan Megachile rotundata’nın ithal edilerek diğer birçok ülkelerde olduğu gibi ülkemizde de yoncanın tozlaşmasında kullanılmaya başlanması zorunludur.

Keywords

Yonca, Tozlayıcı arılar, , Rophites canus, Melitturga clavicornis, Melitta leporina, arılarda azalma, Megachile rotundata

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