Plant Preferences of Halictus Latreille (Halictidae: Hymenoptera) in the Mediterranean Region of Southern Turkey

Year 2018, Volume: 77 Issue: 2, 65 - 69, 02.12.2018

Fatih Dikmen , Demet Tore Ahmet Murat Aytekin

Abstract

DOI: 10.26650/EurJBiol.2018.0014

Objective: Lack of information regarding
the floral preferences of wild bees is one of the major problems in
understanding plant–bee interactions. Therefore, we investigated the plant
preferences of Halictus Latreille (Halictidae: Apoidea: Hymenoptera) species
that are distributed in the Mediterranean Region of southern Turkey.

Materials and Methods: Bees were collected
through field studies that were performed during the spring and summer seasons
between 2008 and 2009. The flowers visited by bees were also recorded. In
total, 516 bee specimens belonging to 19 species were collected, and 54 plant
taxa were found to be related to these Halictus species. In addition to field
study data, information collected from the literature was included in the
study. The most commonly visited plant families, genera, and species are
described using diversity indices scores in terms of the plant taxa preferences
of the bees.

Results: A total of 516 bee and 195 plant
specimens were sampled from 76 stations located in 14 provinces. In total, 54
plant taxa were found to be related to 19 Halictus species. Among such large
plant taxa preferences, the most commonly visited ones were Onopordum,
Centaurea, and Carduus members.

Conclusion: This study suggests that
members of the genus Halictus primarily prefer to visit plants belonging to the
Asteraceae family. However, they may also visit several other types of flowers
such as those belonging to Rosaceae and Brassicaceae families.

Keywords

Apoidea, Halictus, plant preference, fauna, flora, Asteraceae, Mediterranean, Turkey

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