A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF INSECT VISITORS DIVERSITY IN GOUBELLAT, NORTHERN TUNISIA IN THE PRESENCE OF HONEYBEE COLONIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4314/jfas.v12i3.8Keywords:
biodiversity, Apis mellifera; biodiversity; pollination, TunisiaAbstract
Insect visitors provide an invaluable service to the reproduction of many flowering plants. The present study concerns the distribution of insect visitors in a semi-arid environment in the presence of honey bees hives. The study took place in Goubellat a semi-arid region in north of Tunisia between Mars and May 2015. Two plots A and B distant respectively 150 m and 3 km from an apiary of 20 hives were chosen to record the insects present in the tw parcels. The number of insects captured during the study period is 1867 divided into 8 orders were sorted and divided into 4 orders mainly Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera with a percentage of 36,58; 19,5; 11,89 and 2,41% respectively. Within Hymenoptera order, three superfamilies were identified: the Apoidea, the Ichneumonoidea and, the Vespoidea. The most represented family within Apoidea is the Apidea family with one species Apis mellifera followed by Megachilidea family represented also by one species, Megachile sp. The Goubellat region seems to be very poor in pollinators. Thus, the honey bee with its pollinating power can play a role in restoring degraded areas and seems to promote competitiveness among other insects.
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References
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[29] Klein A-M, Vaissiere BE, Cane JH, Steffan-Dewenter I, Cunningham SA, Kremen C, et al. Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proceedings of the royal society B: biological sciences, 2006,274(1608),303-13.
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[2] Klein A-M, Vaissière BE, Cane JH, Steffan-Dewenter I, Cunningham SA, Kremen C, et al. Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2007,274(1608),303-13.
[3] Gallai N, Salles J-M, Settele J, Vaissière BE. Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline. Ecological Economics, 2009,68(3),810-21.
[4] Blondel J, Aronson J, Bodiou J-Y, Boeuf G. The Mediterranean region: biological diversity in space and time. Press OU, editor2010.
[5] Coiffait-Gombault C, Buisson E, Dutoit T. Hay Transfer Promotes Establishment of Mediterranean Steppe Vegetation on Soil Disturbed by Pipeline Construction. Restoration Ecology, 2011,19(201),214-22.
[6] Knight TM, Steets JA, Vamosi JC, Mazer SJ, Burd M, Campbell DR, et al. Pollen Limitation of Plant Reproduction: Pattern and Process. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 2005,36(1),467-97.
[7] Vamosi JC, Knight TM, Steets JA, Mazer SJ, Burd M, Ashman T-L. Pollination decays in biodiversity hotspots. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006,103(4),956-61.
[8] Norfolk O, Dathe H. Filling the Egyptian pollinator knowledge-gap: checklist of flower-visiting insects in South Sinai, with new records for Egypt. Beiträge zur Entomologie (Contributions to Entomology), 2019,69(1),174-85.
[9] Chouchaine M. L'abeille tunisienne dans la systématique des Apoidea: Editions universitaires europeennes EUE; 2015.
[10] Myers N. Environmental services of biodiversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1996,93(7),2764-9.
[11] Kevan P, Baker H. Insects as Flower Visitors and Pollinators. Annual review of entomology, 1983,28(1),407-53.
[12] Paini DR. Impact of the introduced honey bee (Apis mellifera) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on native bees: A review. Austral Ecology, 2004,29(4),399-407.
[13] Steffan-Dewenter I, Tscharntke T. Resource overlap and possible competition between honey bees and wild bees in central Europe. Oecologia, 2000,122(2),288-96.
[14] Goulson D, Sparrow KR. Evidence for competition between honeybees and bumblebees; effects on bumblebee worker size. Journal of Insect Conservation, 2009,13(2),177-81.
[15] Kato M, Shibata A, Yasui T, Nagamasu H. Impact of introduced honeybees, Apis mellifera, upon native bee communities in the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands. Researches on Population Ecology, 1999 August 01,41(2),217-28.
[16] Roubik DW, Wolda H. Do competing honey bees matter? Dynamics and abundance of native bees before and after honey bee invasion. Population Ecology, 2001 May 01,43(1),53-62.
[17] Taha E-KA, Bayoumi YA. The value of honey bees (Apis mellifera, L.) as pollinators of summer seed watermelon (Citrullus lanatus colothynthoides L.) in Egypt. Acta Biologica Szegediensis, 2009,53(1),33-7.
[18] Faegri K, Van der Pijl L. Principles of pollination ecology. Elsevier, editor: Elsevier; 2013.
[19] Thien LB. Patterns of Pollination in the Primitive Angiosperms. Biotropica, 1980,12(1),1-13.
[20] Thien LB. Patterns of Pollination in the Primitive Angiosperms. Springer Science & Business Media, editor1980. 1-13 p.
[21] Ouahab Y. Distribution spatio-temporelle des abeilles sauvages (Hyménoptera; Apoidea) à travers les Monts de Tlemcen: Univrsité Aboubakr Belkaïd -Tlemcen (Algérie); 2016.
[22] Rasmont P. Hymenoptera Apoidea Gallica : Liste taxonomique des abeilles de France, de Belgique, de Suisse et du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. France Sed, editor. Paris: Société entomologique de France; 1995. 98 p.
[23] Bendifallah L, editor Geographical variation in diversity of pollinator bees at natural ecosystem (Algeria)2012.
[24] Potts S, Willmer P. Abiotic and biotic factors influencing nest‐site selection by Halictus rubicundus, a ground‐nesting halictine bee. Ecological Entomology, 1997,22(3),319-28.
[25] Pekkarinen A. Oligolectic bee species in northern Europe (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). Entomologica Fennica, 1997,8(4),205-14.
[26] Minckley RL, Wcislo WT, Yanega D, Buchmann SL. Behavior and phenology of a specialist bee (Dieunomia) and sunflower (Helianthus) pollen availability. Ecology, 1994,75(5),1406-19.
[27] Flores LMA, Zanette LRS, Araujo FS. Effects of habitat simplification on assemblages of cavity nesting bees and wasps in a semiarid neotropical conservation area. Biodiversity and Conservation, 2018 2018/02/01,27(2),311-28.
[28] Abrahamczyk S, Kluge J, Gareca Y, Reichle S, Kessler M. The Influence of Climatic Seasonality on the Diversity of Different Tropical Pollinator Groups. PLOS ONE, 2011,6(11),e27115.
[29] Klein A-M, Vaissiere BE, Cane JH, Steffan-Dewenter I, Cunningham SA, Kremen C, et al. Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proceedings of the royal society B: biological sciences, 2006,274(1608),303-13.
[30] Isaacs R, Tuell J, Fiedler A, Gardiner M, Landis D. Maximizing arthropod-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes: the role of native plants. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2009,7(4),196-203.
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Published
2020-08-03
How to Cite
ABDELKADER, F. B.; OUNISI, R.; BARBOUCHE, N.; AMMAR, M. A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF INSECT VISITORS DIVERSITY IN GOUBELLAT, NORTHERN TUNISIA IN THE PRESENCE OF HONEYBEE COLONIES. Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, [S. l.], v. 12, n. 3, p. 1114–1124, 2020. DOI: 10.4314/jfas.v12i3.8. Disponível em: https://www.jfas.info/index.php/JFAS/article/view/823. Acesso em: 12 may. 2026.
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