Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T18:56:57.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Exploitation of Dichrostachys cinerea, Vitellaria paradoxa, Persea americana and Securidaca longepedunculata flowers by Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) at Dang (Ngaoundéré, Cameroon)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2008

Fernand-Nestor Tchuenguem Fohouo ,
Denis Djongwangwe ,
Auguste Pharaon Mbianda ,
Jean Messi  and
Dorothea Brückner
Fernand-Nestor Tchuenguem Fohouo*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, University of Ngaoundéré, PO Box 454, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon
Denis Djongwangwe
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Zoology, University of Yaoundé, PO Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Auguste Pharaon Mbianda
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Zoology, University of Yaoundé, PO Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Jean Messi
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Zoology, University of Yaoundé, PO Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Dorothea Brückner
Affiliation:
 Forschungsstelle für Bienenkunde, Universität Bremen, FB2, Postfach 33 04 40, 28334, Bremen, Germany
*
*E-mail: tchuenguem2001@yahoo.fr
Get access

Abstract

In Cameroon, the demand for hive products is growing. Honey and pollen yields are low in the country, partly because of the poor knowledge of the apicultural value of the flora. To determine the apicultural value of Dichrostachys cinerea (L.), Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertn. F., Persea americana Mill. and Securidaca longepedunculata Fres., Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille activity was observed on the flowers of these plants in Ngaoundéré, from December 2001 to May 2002 and from December 2002 to May 2003. The flowers of each plant species were prospected at least 4 days per month, between 0700 and 1800 h, for recording of the nectar and/or pollen foraging behaviour of A. m. adansonii workers. Results show that A. m. adansonii harvest nectar and pollen of V. paradoxa, P. americana and S. longepedunculata. The flowers of D. cinerea were visited for pollen only. The greatest number of workers foraging simultaneously on a plant varied from 34 (D. cinerea) to 1640 (P. americana). A. m. adansonii workers that visited flowers of a given plant species once remained with this nectar source throughout the observation period. Thus V. paradoxa, P. americana and S. longepedunculata could be cultivated and protected to increase honey production, whereas D. cinerea could enable bee-keepers to increase their pollen production as a hive product. During foraging, A. m. adansonii workers increased pollination possibilities of each of the plant species.

Keywords

Apis mellifera adansoniiDichrostachys cinereaVitellaria paradoxaPersea americanaSecuridaca longepedunculatanectarpollenbee plantpollinationCameroon
Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , December 2008 , pp. 225 - 233
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bakenga, M., Bahati, M. and Balagizi, K. (2000) Inventaire des plantes mellifères de Bukavu et ses environs (Sud-Kivu, Est de la République Démocratique du Congo). Tropicultura 18, 89–93.Google Scholar
Basualdo, M., Bedascarrasbure, E. and De Jong, E. (2000) Africanized honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) have a greater fidelity to sunflowers than European bees. Journal of Economic Entomology 93, 304–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crane, E. (1999) The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting. Duckworth, London. 682 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crane, E. and Walker, P. (1984) Pollination Directory for World Crops. IBRA, London. 183 pp.Google Scholar
Dequesne, P. H. (1996) Apiculture tropicale en Afrique de l'Ouest. L'Abeille de France 813, 131–132.Google Scholar
Dongock Nguemo, D., Foko, J., Pinta, J. Y., Tchoumboué, J. and Zango, P. (2004) Inventaire et identification des plantes mellifères de la zone soudano-guinéenne d'altitude de l'Ouest Cameroun. Tropicultura 22, 139–145.Google Scholar
Fichtl, R. and Adi, A. (Eds) (1994) Honeybee Flora of Ethiopia. Margraf Verlag, Weikerskein. 510 pp.Google Scholar
Freitas, B. M. (1997) Number and distribution of cashew (Anacardium occidentale) pollen grains on the bodies of its pollinators Apis mellifera and Centris tarsata. Journal of Apicultural Research 36, 15–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frisch, K. von (1969) In Vie et Moeurs des Abeilles (Edited by Michel, A.). Paris. 556 pp.Google Scholar
Goodman, L. (2003) Form and Function in the Honey Bee. IBRA, Cardiff. 220 pp.Google Scholar
Guerriat, H. (Ed.) (1996) Etre Performant en Apiculture. Daussois, Belgium. 416 pp.Google Scholar
Hill, P. S. M., Wells, P. H. and Wells, H. (1997) Spontaneous flower constancy and learning in honeybees as a function of colour. Animal Behaviour 54, 615–627.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
INADES (2000 a) In Rapport des ateliers avec les apiculteurs de l'Adamaoua (Edited by INADES–Formation Cameroun Antenne de Maroua, ). Maroua. 29 pp.Google Scholar
INADES (2000 b) In Programme d'appui à la filière apiculture dans l'Adamaoua (Edited by INADES–Formation Cameroun, Antenne de Maroua, ). Maroua. 28 pp.Google Scholar
Jacob-Remacle, A. (1989) Comportement de butinage de l'abeille domestique et des abeilles sauvages dans des vergers de pommiers en Belgique. Apidologie 20, 271–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kengue, J., Tchuenguem Fohouo, F.-N. and Adewusi, H. G. (2002) Towards the improvement of safou (Dacryodes edulis): population variation and reproductive biology. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 12, 73–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leven, L., Boot, V. W.-J., Mutsaers, M., Segeren, P. and Velthuis, H. (2005) Beekeeping in the Tropics [Agrodok 32] Wageningen. 6th edn. 86 pp.Google Scholar
Louveaux, J. (1984) L'abeille domestique dans ses relations avec les plantes cultivées, pp. 527–555. In Pollinisation et Productions Végétales (Edited by Pesson, P. and Louveaux, J.). INRA, Paris.Google Scholar
Mbofung, G., Tchuenguem Fohouo, F.-N., Boukar, O., Hentchoya Hemo, J. and Brückner, D. (2000) Characterization of some honeys from Adamawa, Cameroon using melissopalynological methods. Biosciences Proceedings 7, 108–120.Google Scholar
Paterson, P. D. (2006) Beekeeping. CTA/IBRA/Macmillan, London. 118 pp.Google Scholar
Riedacker, A. (1996) Des plantes qui indiquent ce que nous ne voyons pas. L'Abeille de France 815, 205.Google Scholar
Schneider, S. S. and Hall, H. G. (1997) Diet selection and foraging distances of African and European–African hybrid honeybee colonies in Costa Rica. Insectes Sociaux 44, 171–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tchuenguem Fohouo, F.-N. (2005) Activité de butinage et de pollinisation d'Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Apinae) sur les fleurs de trois plantes à Ngaoundéré (Cameroun): Callistemon rigidus (Myrtaceae), Syzygium guineense var. macrocarpum (Myrtaceae) et Voacanga africana (Apocynaceae). Thèse de Doctorat d'Etat, Université de Yaoundé I, 103 pp.Google Scholar
Tchuenguem Fohouo, F.-N., Nyomo, , Mapongmetsem, P. M. and Messi, J. (1997) Activité d'Apis mellifica L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) sur les fleurs de queques plantes ligneuses à Dang (Adamawa, Cameroun). Cameroon Journal of Biological and Biochemical Sciences 7, 86–91.Google Scholar
Tchuenguem Fohouo, F.-N., Messi, J., Brückner, D., Bouba, B., Mbofung, G. and Hentchoya Hemo, J. (2004) Foraging and pollination behaviour of the African honey bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) on Callistemon rigidus flowers at Ngaoundéré (Cameroon). Journal of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences 4, 133–140.Google Scholar
Tchuenguem Fohouo, F.-N., Djonwangwe, D., Messi, J. and Brückner, D. (2007) Exploitation des fleurs de Entada africana, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Psidium guajava et Trichillia emetica par Apis mellifera adansonii à Dang (Ngaoundéré, Cameroun). Cameroon Journal of Experimental Biology 3, 50–60.Google Scholar
Tchuenguem Fohouo, F.-N., Djonwangwe, D. and Brückner, D. (2008) Foraging behaviour of the African honey bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) on Annona senegalensis, Croton macrostachyus, Psorospermum febrifugum and Syzygium guineense var. guineense flowers at Ngaoundéré (Cameroon). Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 11, 719–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Villières, B. (1987) In L'Apiculture en Afrique Tropicale (Edited by GRET, ). Dossier ‘Le point sur’ n° 11Paris. 220 pp.Google Scholar
Weidenmüller, A. and Tautz, J. (2002) In-hive behavior of pollen foragers (Apis mellifera) in honey bee colonies under conditions of high and low pollen need. Ethology 108, 205–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, I. H. and Carreck, N. L. (1994) Land use changes and honey bee forage plants, pp. 7–20. In Forage for Bees in an Agricultural Landscape (Edited by Matheson, A.). IBRA, Cardiff.Google Scholar
Wright, G. A., Skinner, B. D. and Smith, B. H. (2002) Ability of honeybee Apis mellifera, to detect and discriminate odors of varieties of canola (Brassica rapa and Brassica napus) and snapdragon flowers (Antirrhinum majus). Journal of Chemical Ecology 28, 721–740.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed