COLONY STRENGTH AND ITS PERFORMANCE INDEX IN DIFFERENT APIARIES OF APIS CERANA INDICA, IN KARNATAKA,INDIA

Author: 
Nagarathna A and Reddy, M.S
Country: 
India
Abstract: 

The colony performance of Apis cerana indica determines its foraging efficiency. The economy of the colony depends on the performance of the colony. The productivity and efficiency of Indian honeybee A.cerana depends on various factors which are both external and internal. Effort has been made to study the colony performance index in A.cerana indica in different apiaries during different seasons in Karnataka, India. The foraging efficiency of honeybee largely depends on the availability of bee forage, conditions of the colony and the foraging range of worker bees. Studies on the foraging activity of bees in different seasons of the year gives an indication of the adaptability of the bees in exploiting the bee forage in a locality. Similarly,
the extensive knowledge of the pollen sources helps the beekeepers to exploit the sources to the maximum extent so as to develop stronger colonies that are highly desirable from the point of their productivity. Continuous flow of food substances throughout the year is essential for the successful beekeeping. The availability of nectar and pollen to foraging bee fluctuates from time to time of the year and also flowering of different plant species at different seasons It has been estimated that the influence of apiculture (beekeeping) on agricultural production is 10 or 15 times more important than the direct action by man. This is because about 80% of cultivated crops are entomophilies with bees being the most active insects during pollination (about 60% of pollination is done by bees.Information pertaining to pollen and nectar loads in different species of honeybees, load carrying capacity of honeybee and the colony performance, the time of visitation to various crops and time of availability is very meager hence it was proposed to carry out the present studies During the present study,it was found that in Karnataka, South India, in the test apiary site maximum and minimum variation of pollen foragers were recorded during the study period. This is due to the prevailing floral diversity and its density in the study sites

KeyWords: 

Efficiency, productivity, colony Apis cerana

Volume & Issue: 
Vol. 2, Issue 2
Pages: 
308-311
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