Insect Pollinators (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) Diversity on Aromatic and Medicinal Plants from Tunisia

This study investigates the diversity of hymenopteran aculeate fauna associated with aromatic and medicinal plants from Tunisia. In terms of taxonomic diversity, 68 species belonging to 36 genera, four superfamilies and 12 families are identified. The most represented genera are Andrena and Hylaeus, accounting for 26.51% and 17.15% of the total abundance, respectively. The most species-rich are Andrena (11 species), Lasioglossum (6 species) and Hylaeus (5 species). Individuals captured on sweet fennel account for almost 60% of the total sample, confirming its strong attractiveness to aculeate Hymenoptera. Wild solitary bees (Andrenidae, Halictidae and Colletidae) are the most collected, with Halictidae favoring wild fennel and Colletidae favoring sweet fennel. The Shannon diversity index (H'), MAPs have the maximum value, suggesting that MAPs tend to support slightly more diverse and evenly distributed communities, in contrast to wild fennel, which is more strongly dominated by the genera Hylaeus, Andrena, Nomioides and Ceylalictus. In terms of agronomic interest, hymenopteran pollinators are most attracted to all studied plants, with a preference for wild and sweet fennels. These findings suggest that fennel and other MAPs could be integrated into management programs for pollination-dependent crops such as cucurbits and Tunisian almonds.