Melittopalynological studies of Apis dorsata honey samples from Kolar District, Karnataka, India

Honeybees, while foraging for nectar on flowers, also gather some pollen which retains in the honey even after extraction. Pollen grains are the essential tools in the analysis of honey. The aim of the present report was to find the Apis dorsata honey floral resources in Kolar district state Karnataka. In the present study, the pollen content of 28 A. dorsata honey samples were collected from 5 different locations of Kolar district, Karnataka, India. Samples were subjected to Melittopalynological studies to identify their honey plant resources and colour, optic density and collection places were documented. A wide variety of pollen types represent their plant sources and their frequency classes were recognized in each honey sample. Among 28 honey samples analysed, 10 samples were identified as multifloral, 18 unifloral with predominant pollen types such as Syzygium cumini, Pongamia pinnata, Eucalyptus sp, Guizotia abyssinica, Psidium guajava and Coriandrum sativum, each count was found above 45%. Pollen spectra indicated a total of 56 pollen types belonging to 27 plant families. Fabaceae was represented as the largest family with 14 species contributing honey production. Among the habit, tree was dominant with 51.78%, followed by herbs (32.14%) and shrubs (16.07%). The economic importance of identified plants with apiculture importance was categorized as medicinal, ornamental, vegetable, timber and oil yielding, weeds, fruits and nuts. A. dorsata depends on wild trees and cultivated plants bloom throughout the year as pollen and nectar source. From the results, it is evident that there is a lot of potential in establishing beekeeping industries in the study area.