PLANTS VISITED BY Apis mellifera L. (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE) IN RECÔNCAVO BAIANO, STATE OF BAHIA, BRAZIL

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify the plants visited by Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the region of Recôncavo Baiano, State of Bahia, Brazil. Flowering plants were assessed in a radius of 1.500 m around the apiaries visited. A total of 240 species belonging to 171 genera and 50 families were recorded. The family Leguminosae had the highest species richness (22%), followed by Asteraceae (14%) and Malvaceae (7%) of all plant species visited by Apis mellifera . The highest percentage of plants collected had herbaceous growth habit (44%), followed by woody plants (26%) and shrubs (18%). Lianas, vines and palm trees were significantly less represented. It was found that 65% of species had actinomorphic flowers and 33% had zygomorphic flowers. The genera that showed higher diversity were Sida with nine species, Croton with six species, Senna with five species, while Chamaecrista , Eucalyptus, Eupatorium, Ocimum, Passiflora and Vernonia were represented by four species each. The flora of apicultural interest in the region of Recôncavo Baiano has a wide range of species with varying growth habits.