Temporal and weather impacts on the rock bee, Apis dorsata Fab.(Hymenoptera, Apidae) visitations in urban green spaces in Bengaluru, India

Bengaluru, acclaimed as the Garden City of India, is an agglomerate of continuous development, and metropolitan gardens serve as a refuge for insect pollinators. These ecological green spaces are subject to the influence of weather and anthropogenic activity. To understand the impact of abiotic factors on the rock bee, Apis dorsata Fab, a study was carried out from 2014 to 2018 in two urban gardens, and the visitation of wild honey bees on flowers was correlated with abiotic factors as well as species of flora. The study showed temperature had a positive correlation (R² = 0.55 in site 1 and R² = 0.45 in site 2) to bee visits, while relative humidity and rain had a negative correlation (R² = 0.50 and R² = 0.50) in site 1. Pooled analysis of visitation on flowers showed that Jacquemontia pentanthos had the highest mean visits (1.7 insects/m²/2 minutes), followed by Hamelia patens (1.4 insects/m²/2 minutes) in site 1. In study site 2, Plumbago lanceolata had the highest mean visits (0.9 insects/m²/2 minutes), and Hibiscus species showed a mean of 0.6 insects/m²/2 minutes in the analysis from 2014–2018.