Prevalence, species richness and diversity of flower visiting insects at Bhubaneswar (Odisha).
Patnaik H. P., Satapathy C. R., Panda N. N.
Author Affiliation: Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, OUAT, Bhubaneswar 751 003, India.
Journal of Plant Protection and Environment 9 : 1-10
Abstract : Sampling of flower visiting insects with sweep net in field crops (mustard, radish, brinjal and cowpea), ornamental crops (marigold, chrysanthemum and golden rod) and tree crops (mango and cashew) showed the prevalence of 26 species of insects at Bhubaneswar (Odisha). Conservation of soil nesting mining bees (Andrena ilerda and A. laena) and sweat bee of family Halictidae were considered as vital in view of their role in crop pollination. Under Bhubaneswar conditions, members of the family Apidae (Apis cerana indica and Apis mellifera), Syrphidae (Eristalis tenax) and Andrenidae predominated in field crops while in ornamental crops, members of family Apidae predominated (73.1%) followed by Andrenidae (9.5%). The families like Halictidae, Syrphidae, Calliphoridae, Stratiomyidae and Pieridae constituted a marginal proportion (2.2-3.4%) and appeared to be quite negligible. In tree crops Calliphoridae, Vespidae, Muscidae and Syrphidae were predominated and contained about 14.6 to 24.4% of the total insects sampled. Species richness and species diversity indices showed that crops like mustard, radish, chrysanthemum and mango can maintain species richness in an habitat like that of Bhubaneswar. The dominance status of flower visiting insects indicated that insects like honey bees being attracted to different crops approaching their preferred hosts for nectar and pollen from far of distance showed dominant to eudominat status, while vespid wasps' dominance in mango and eudominance of blow flies in cashew were attributed to their preference for nesting or for nectar/pollen.