A Unique Foraging Behavior of Honeybees on the Fallen Flowers of an Indian Beech Tree (Millettia pinnata L.)

Millettia pinnata, a potential biodiesel plant, bears copious pink and white flowers from February to April, and there are plenty of pollen and nectar rewards for the flower visitors. Four species of bees, Indian rockbee, Apis dorsata, Indian honeybee, A. cerana indica, little bee, A. florea, and stingless bee, Tetragonula iridipennis, visited the fallen flowers of M. pinnata for the collection of rewards in the flowers. In the current study, A. cerana indica showed the highest frequency of foraging on fallen flowers (6.40 ± 1.67 bees/5 minutes), followed by T. iridipennis (4.20 ± 0.84 bees/5 minutes). The bees handled 3.01 ± 1.00 fallen white flowers and 2.20 ± 0.84 pink flowers in 5 minutes. The bees spent 4.40 ± 0.55 seconds and 4.20 ± 0.84 seconds on the fallen pink and white flowers, respectively. The study reported a unique foraging behavior of bees in the fallen flowers of M. pinnata, requiring caution in refraining from the inter-cultivation operations below the trees during the bloom period to enable floral rewards to the bees from the fallen flowers.