<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Offering more floral resources for urban bees can be achieved by growing ornamental bee plants. The aim of the present study was to evaluate selected Asteraceae (<italic>Calendula officinalis</italic> ‘Persimmon Beauty’ and ‘Santana’, <italic>Centaurea macrocephala</italic>, <italic>Cosmos sulphureus</italic>, <italic>Dahlia pinnata</italic>, <italic>Tagetes patula</italic>, <italic>Tithonia rotundifolia</italic>, and <italic>Zinnia elegans</italic>) as pollen sources for pollinators. Under urban conditions in Lublin, SE Poland, the investigated plants flowered from late June to the end of October. The mass of pollen produced in florets and capitula was found to be species-related. The highest pollen amounts per 10 florets (10.1 mg) as well as per capitulum (249.7 mg) were found for <italic>C. macrocephala</italic>. The mass of pollen yielded by a single plant depended on both the pollen mass delivered per disk florets and the proportion of disk florets in capitulum, and the flowering abundance of the plants. A single plant of <italic>D. pinnata</italic> and a single plant of <italic>T. rotundifolia</italic> each produced the largest pollen mass. Mean pollen yield per 1m<sup>2</sup> of a plot ranged from 6.2 g (<italic>Z. elegans</italic>) to 60.7 g <italic>(D. pinnata</italic>). Pollen grains are tricolporate, with echinate exine, medium or small in size. They can be categorised as oblatespherical, spherical, and prolatespherical. The principal visitors to <italic>C. macrocephala</italic>, <italic>C. sulphureus</italic>, and <italic>C. officinalis</italic> were honey bees, whereas bumble bees dominated on <italic>T. rotundifolia</italic> and <italic>D. pinnata</italic>. A magnet plant for butterflies was <italic>Z. elegans</italic>. Among the investigated species, <italic>D. pinnata</italic>, <italic>C. macrocephala</italic>, and <italic>T. rotundifolia</italic> were found to be the most valuable sources of pollen flow for managed and wild bees.</p></abstract>

Offering more floral resources for urban bees can be achieved by growing ornamental bee plants. The aim of the present study was to evaluate selected Asteraceae (Calendula officinalis ‘Persimmon Beauty’ and ‘Santana’, Centaurea macrocephala, Cosmos sulphureus, Dahlia pinnata, Tagetes patula, Tithonia rotundifolia, and Zinnia elegans) as pollen sources for pollinators. Under urban conditions in Lublin, SE Poland, the investigated plants flowered from late June to the end of October. The mass of pollen produced in florets and capitula was found to be species-related. The highest pollen amounts per 10 florets (10.1 mg) as well as per capitulum (249.7 mg) were found for C. macrocephala. The mass of pollen yielded by a single plant depended on both the pollen mass delivered per disk florets and the proportion of disk florets in capitulum, and the flowering abundance of the plants. A single plant of D. pinnata and a single plant of T. rotundifolia each produced the largest pollen mass. Mean pollen yield per 1m2 of a plot ranged from 6.2 g (Z. elegans) to 60.7 g (D. pinnata). Pollen grains are tricolporate, with echinate exine, medium or small in size. They can be categorised as oblatespherical, spherical, and prolatespherical. The principal visitors to C. macrocephala, C. sulphureus, and C. officinalis were honey bees, whereas bumble bees dominated on T. rotundifolia and D. pinnata. A magnet plant for butterflies was Z. elegans. Among the investigated species, D. pinnata, C. macrocephala, and T. rotundifolia were found to be the most valuable sources of pollen flow for managed and wild bees.

Evaluation of Selected Ornamental Asteraceae as a Pollen Source for Urban Bees

Journal of Apicultural Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Evaluation of Selected Ornamental Asteraceae as a Pollen Source for Urban Bees"}

Offering more floral resources for urban bees can be achieved by growing ornamental bee plants. The aim of the present study was to evaluate selected...

Evaluation of Selected Ornamental Asteraceae as a Pollen Source for Urban Bees

Published Online: Dec 08, 2016

Page range: 179 - 192

Received: Apr 27, 2016

Accepted: Nov 08, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jas-2016-0031

Keywords
Asteraceae, bee pasture, pollen production, urban bees

© 2016 Anna Wróblewska et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Evaluation of Selected Ornamental Asteraceae as a Pollen Source for Urban Bees

Published Online: Dec 08, 2016

Page range: 179 - 192

Received: Apr 27, 2016

Accepted: Nov 08, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jas-2016-0031

KeywordsAsteraceae, bee pasture, pollen production, urban bees

© 2016 Anna Wróblewska et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Asteraceae, bee pasture, pollen production, urban bees