[Bee (Apis mellifera, Hymenoptera: Apoidea) visitation to cantaloupe Cucumis melo (Cucurvitaceae) flowers in Panama].
Flower visits by bees were observed in a melon cultivated field of San Lorenzo district, in Chiriqui, Panama, from January 6 to February 19, 2002, from 6:30 am to 4:30 pm We recorded the duration of each foraging event and the type of resource collected. Flower visits were mostly for nectar collection (approximately 75 %). Pollen foraging was concentrated in the first hours of the morning and ended by 11:00 am The mean collection time was similar for both food resources, but was different between flower sexes. Flower visits to female flowers took longer (Student's t test, p<0.0001), with a mean time duration of 8.4+/-4.4 s, whereas in male flowers mean visitation time was of 4.0+/-1.5 s. Finally, the mean time for each floral sex remained practically constant through the evolution of the crop. Our results were similar to the found ones in temperate zone crops, so apparently tropical conditions of Panama do not change the bee visit patterns on melon flowers.
de la Hoz
Juan Carlos Di Trani
JC
juanditrani@yahoo.com
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D028463:Cucumis melo; D035264:Flowers / Q000502:physiology*; D010176:Panama; D054817:Pollination / Q000502:physiology*; D011725:Pyridines; D013777:Tetrazoles; D013997:Time Factors
D011725:Pyridines; D013777:Tetrazoles; C084927:forasartan