Abstract
An increasing demand for pollination services highlights the need for research on alternative pollinators for greenhouse and open field food crops. We compared the foraging behaviour and effectiveness of seven endemic African Meliponinae (Meliponula bocandei, Dactylurina schmidti, Plebeina hildebrandti, Meliponula lendliana, Hypotrigona gribodoi, Meliponula ferruginea, Meliponula togoensis) as alternative pollinators to honey bees of greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons. It was observed that honey bees started foraging sooner after introduction in the greenhouse (av. 4 days) than the stingless bee species (8 to 16 days). Stingless bees were mainly harvesting nectar (ca. 2/3 of all flower visits) and M. ferruginea, M. togoensis, H. gribodoi and P. hildebrandti spent more time collecting nectar than other stingless bee species. Fruit maturation was significantly faster when flowers were pollinated by stingless bees compared to honey bees, with the shortest fruit maturation time found when flowers were pollinated by M. bocandei and H. gribodoi. All treatments resulted in fruits of similar roundness and ellipsoid ratios. The highest fruit weight and fruit volume were obtained from flowers pollinated by either manual pollination, H. gribodoi, M. bocandei, M. lendliana and P. hildebrandti compared to honey bees. Correspondingly, pollination by the latter 5 species resulted in the highest seed counts per fruit, although these differences did not affect seed weight or volume. Altogether, our results indicate that stingless bees such as H. gribodoi, M. bocandei, M. lendliana and P. hildebrandti are more efficient pollinators of sweet melon than A. m. scutellata and can be recommended for use in greenhouse crops.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Honey bees began foraging sooner than stingless bees after greenhouse introduction.
Verbatim
e0“honey bees started foraging sooner after introduction in the greenhouse (av. 4 days) than the stingless bee species (8 to 16 days)”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
Stingless bees harvested nectar in about two thirds of flower visits.
- Taxon
- Cantaloupe melonse1
- Interactor
- Stingless beesMeliponinie0pollinator
- Outcome
- harvesting nectare0
- Value
- ca. 2/3 of all flower visitse0
Verbatim
e0“Stingless bees were mainly harvesting nectar (ca. 2/3 of all flower visits)”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
Four stingless bee species spent more time collecting nectar than other stingless bees.
- Taxon
- Cantaloupe melonse1
- Interactor
- M. ferruginea
.jpg?width=60)
Meliponula ferrugineae0pollinator - Outcome
- time collecting nectare0
- Direction
- moree0
- Qualifier
- M. togoensis, H. gribodoi and P. hildebrandtie0
- Comparator
- other stingless bee speciese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“M. ferruginea, M. togoensis, H. gribodoi and P. hildebrandti spent more time collecting nectar than other stingless bee species”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
Stingless bee pollination significantly shortened fruit maturation relative to honey bee pollination.
Verbatim
e0“Fruit maturation was significantly faster when flowers were pollinated by stingless bees compared to honey bees”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
M. bocandei and H. gribodoi pollination gave the shortest fruit maturation time.
- Taxon
- Cantaloupe melonse1
- Interactor
- M. bocandei
Meliponula bocandeie0pollinator - Second interactor
- H. gribodoiHypotrigona gribodoie0pollinator
- Outcome
- shortest fruit maturation timee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the shortest fruit maturation time found when flowers were pollinated by M. bocandei and H. gribodoi”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
Pollination treatments yielded similar fruit roundness and ellipsoid ratios.
- Taxon
- Cantaloupe melonse1
- Treatment
- All treatmentse0
- Outcome
- roundness and ellipsoid ratiose0
- Direction
- similare0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“All treatments resulted in fruits of similar roundness and ellipsoid ratios”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
Manual pollination and four stingless bee species produced the highest fruit weight relative to honey bees.
Verbatim
e0“The highest fruit weight and fruit volume were obtained from flowers pollinated by either manual pollination, H. gribodoi, M. bocandei, M. lendliana and P. hildebrandti compared to honey bees”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
Manual pollination and four stingless bee species produced the highest fruit volume relative to honey bees.
Verbatim
e0“The highest fruit weight and fruit volume were obtained from flowers pollinated by either manual pollination, H. gribodoi, M. bocandei, M. lendliana and P. hildebrandti compared to honey bees”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
These five pollination treatments yielded the highest seed counts per fruit.
- Taxon
- Cantaloupe melonse1
- Treatment
- pollination by the latter 5 speciese0
- Outcome
- seed counts per fruite0
- Direction
- higheste0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“pollination by the latter 5 species resulted in the highest seed counts per fruit”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
The pollination differences did not affect seed weight or volume.
- Taxon
- Cantaloupe melonse1
- Treatment
- these differencese0
- Outcome
- seed weight or volumee0
- Direction
- did not affecte0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“these differences did not affect seed weight or volume”
e1“greenhouse cultivated Cantaloupe melons”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors considered four stingless bee species more efficient melon pollinators than A. m. scutellata.
- Taxon
- sweet melone0
- Interactor
- H. gribodoiHypotrigona gribodoie0pollinator
- Outcome
- more efficient pollinatorse0
- Comparator
- A. m. scutellatae0
Verbatim
e0“stingless bees such as H. gribodoi, M. bocandei, M. lendliana and P. hildebrandti are more efficient pollinators of sweet melon than A. m. scutellata”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend four stingless bee species for greenhouse crops.
- Taxon
- sweet melone0
- Interactor
- H. gribodoiHypotrigona gribodoie0pollinator
- Outcome
- recommended for use in greenhouse cropse0
Verbatim
e0“H. gribodoi, M. bocandei, M. lendliana and P. hildebrandti are more efficient pollinators of sweet melon than A. m. scutellata and can be recommended for use in greenhouse crops”