Pollination ecology of solitary pollen bees

Abstract

Bees are often considered to be effective pollinators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. The recent declines in feral and domesticated social bee populations have raised serious concerns about their impact on the productivity of ecosystems and this urges the need to explore potential alternate bee pollinators for the future. There are 20,000 known species of bees in seven recognised biological families and more than 90 per cent of them are solitary. Unlike social bees, solitary pollen bees establish and provision nests on their own with no assistance from other individuals. Solitary bees play an immensely important role in the pollination of crop plants as well as wild plants. In India, little attempt has been made in documenting solitary bee species. This study was therefore undertaken to document the diversity of solitary pollen bees in selected cucurbitaceous ecosystems with a major emphasis on determining their peak foraging time, nesting preferences, palynology, and the effect of plant protection practices on pollination.