Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) visitors of the annatto flowers

Abstract

Insect visitors to the flowers of annatto are basically bees, pollinators that are considered of great importance to many plant species. This study aimed to identify the species of bees visiting a culture of annatto located in New Garden, Teixeira de Freitas / BA. The collections were made in the months of May and June 2013. Technique used was active collection with insect net. All collected bees were killed using lethal vials with ethyl acetate, dry mounted, identified and deposited in the Collection of the Laboratory of Zoology, University of Bahia, Campus X. 1.013 bees distributed in 15 species were collected. The most abundant species and classified as constants were Apis mellifera, Trigona spinipes e Bombus morio with others being considered as accessory or accidental. The period of greatest foraging was concentrated in the morning (8am - 12pm). We conclude that species diversity was relatively small and therefore we recommend the growing this crop close to areas of native forest and other plantations, because they are potential for visitation of bees, which could increase the reproductive success of the planting.