Diversity and distribution of social apocrites of Vadodara, Gujarat, Western India

2011·2.3 MB·

by  Bhumika Naidu

Diversity and distribution of social apocrites of Vadodara,
Gujarat, Western India
Bhumika Naidu and Dolly Kumar*
DepartmentofZoology, FacultyofSciences,
TheMaharaja Sayajirao UniversityofBaroda,Vadodara-390002.
(email# [email protected])
:
Abstract
Three year survey of bees and wasps carried out in the city ofVadodara and its surroundings at
four sites having specific habitat types highlighted the effect of habitat on the presence and
abundance ofthe bees. Thestudywas basedonthe hourlycounts madetwiceeverymonth infour
selected habitats; agricultural fields, community gardens, fragmented habitats and residential
sites situated atdifferent locations in and around Vadodara ranging from 25-30 kms. The study
recorded a total of47species ofbees andwasps belonging to 29 generafrom 15families. Outof
which11 species are social belonging to 7 genera under 3 families. Shannon diversity showed
highest score ofsocial bee diversity in fragmented habitats, followed by agricultural fields and
communitygardens. Leastdiverse were residential sites .The underlying reason forthesuccess
offragmentedhabitatsisthattheyprovideideal multiplemicrohabitatsfornurturinginsectspecies.
Numbersofbeeswere more incommunitygardenswhereexoticand indigenousspeciesofplants
were cultivated, followed by fragmented habitats and agricultural fields. Minimum numberwas
obtainedfrom residential sites.
Keywords: Apocrita, foodplants, varied habitats, diversity and numbers.
Introduction
Hymenoptera isa largeorderofinsectclasswith Although wasps present less effective
more than 1,20,000 known species on the globe participation as pollinators in natural ecosystems, their
(Gordon,2009) outofwhich morethan 5000speciesare adults (males and females) are regular flower visitors
identified in India (Alfred,1998). and nectarconsumers, especially socialwasps, which
This study involves Vespidae, Halictidae and also collect nectar for energy supply of their colonies
ApidaefamiliesofthesuborderApocritaavailable in and (Gadagkar, 1991).
aroundVadodara.Ants, beesandwaspsare bestknown Asia has a poorer bee fauna compared to other
membersofthis suborderprobablythe mostbeneficial biogeographical regions (Michener, 1979) and lower
of the entire insect class. It contains a great many diversity compared to the Neotropics, but in terms of
speciesthatareofvalueaspollinatorse.g. Apisdorsata, abundancethesocial apid beesarethe mostnumerous
A.indica or predators like Polistes stigma, Icaria in the pollinator spectrum (Roubik era/., 2005).
ferruginea of injurious insect pests e.g. Helicoverpa Amongtheseveral hundred northwestern species
armigeraand Spodopteralitura. Also has parasites like ofbees, itisestimated that 10 percentare eithersocial
Evania appendigaster, Brachymeria hearseyi, or semisocial, 10 percent parasitic and the remaining
Xanthopimplastemmator. 80 percent solitary.
Hymenoptera especially theApoidea group, are As there is no such studyfrom Vadodara a city of
the most important plant pollinators of the natural and gardens(62 in number)thisstudywasundertakentoknow
agricultural ecosystems (Roubik ,1989, Neff and the diversity and abundance of social bees and wasps;
Simpson, 1993) and arestrongly relatedtotheevolution thedecreasingavailabilityoftheirfood plants; dueswhich
and diversification of the angiosperms (Bawa, 1990). areresponsible in reducing theirpopulation inagricultural
Generally, the bees are totally dependent on the floral andresidentialareastorecognizethemasbiocontrolagents
resourcesforthe maintenance ofadultsand nests. orascomponentsofIntegrated Pestmanagement.
66 Halteres, Vol.3, 2011
Materials and Methods genera Family Sphecidae included the largestnumber
Study area: Vadodara District is in the eastern part of of species followed by Vespidae and Xylocopidae.
the stateofGujarat , western India. Itis located at22°11' Maximum generaand speciesofsocialapocritsarealso
N latitudeand 73°07' E longitude. Thediversityofsocial included in Vespidae. 7 species ofwasps belongingto
bees was assessed across4 habitats ofthe Vadodara Vespidae family and three species of honeybees from
and its surroundings from January 2006 to December Apidae were recorded. Whereas from Halictidae only
2008. Survey siteswerechosen based on accessibility one species ofNomia westwoodiiwasfound.
and locationwithin an ecoregion Fourdifferenttypesof Percentagecomposition: 11 speciesofsocialapocrits
habitats; Agricultural fields in and around Vadodara, formed 23% of total species of hymenoptera found in
fragmented areaswithinVadodara, communitygardens Vadodara. (Fig. 1).
and the old and new residential areas ofthe Vadodara
city were selected on the basis of ecological factors, Distribution and Diversity of Bees: Social bees and
flora, type of soil, surrounding environment and wasp abundance was found maximally in community
anthropogenicactivities. gardenswheredifferentfloral plantsweregrownfollowed
by fragmented habitats, agricultural fields and least
Sampling method: Each study areawas visited twice numberwas in residential sites (Fig. 2).
per month from morning 7 a.m.to 9 a.m. and evening 5
p.m. to 7 p.m. ofthe sameday, which included collection Bee Diversity Indices: Shannon diversity index gave
for one hour and labeling for the other., At all the sites the highest score for the bee diversity in fragmented
plotsof 10x10 mwere laid. The numberofindividuals in habitats, followed by agricultural fields, community
agiven speciescollected during 2 hours, fromeach site gardens and lowest score was for residential areas
were recorded. Bees on vegetation were collected by (Table-2). The finding of this study highlights the fact
sweepingtheabovegroundvegetation. Thoseonflowers that the highest diversity of bees is in the area where
and inflightwere individuallycollected using the sweep anthropogenic pressure is comparatively less.
net. Of the bees collected in this manner, the easily Furthermore, inthesehabitats, thevegetationcomprises
identifiable common bees were released on site after a mixture of flowering herbs and patches of natural
making a count and recording their identity. Collected vegetation providing a readysourceofpollenand nectar
beeswere identified up to species level. forbeesthroughouttheyear.
In thecityofVadodaraeventhough the4 habitats
Identification ofbees: Bees collected were identified are located at different distances ranging from 25-30
up to family and generic levels using keys of Imrns' Km, social bees andwaspsdiversitywas nearlysame.
general textbook of Entomology (1997) and Borror Someofthesesocial hymenopteransare predatorsviz.,
(1992), Species level identification was based on keys Polistes spp. and Vespa spp. (Table 3a); as they prey
and descriptionsofBingham (1897), Leffroy (1909) and upon the pupae and caterpillars of lepidopteran pests
Ananthkrishnan (2004). Reference collections of bees likeHelicoverpaarmigera, Spodopteralituraandcan be
andwaspsinthemuseumofIndianAgriculturalResearch useful components of Integrated pest management.
Institute, PUSA, and NewDelhiwerealsousedtoconfirm Some are pollinators viz., Apis indica and A. dorsata
the identity of certain species. (Table 3b),which are importantforimprovingthequality
and quantity ofagricultural crop plants.
Data analysis: Based on the number of bee species Since hymenopteransare highly beneficial, their
and theirabundance in each site, bee diversity in each nests should not be destroyed, unless and until they
of the study sites was calculated using the Shannon becomeannoyance nearhouse. Establishmentoftheir
WeinerDiversity Index (Henderson, 2003). nestsshould beencouraged bycreating morefavorable
environmentalconditionsforthem inthegardensaswell
Results and Discussion as in agriculturalfields Thevegetation and siteswhere
Species composition:Atotal of 1776 bee specimens these bees and wasps make their nests should be
werecollectedfromthe 10sitesduring the 3years The preserved (Table 4). Due to building of malls and
study recorded a total of 47 bee species belonging to multiplexes as well as urbanization in the city many
29 genera in 15 families out of which 11 species, 7 green spaceswith the type ofvegetations where bees
genera and 3 families were social (Table-1). Family and wasps thrive upon are lost leading to decrease in
Vespidaeand Sphecidae included the largestnumberof their population.
Diversity and distribution of social apocrites of Vadodara, Gujarat, Western India 67
X
1
:5
50
o
AgriF CompiGardens Fragmented Residential
habitats areas
No.ofindMluaisVespidae No:findM
aNoofindMJuaisApidae
Fig. 2: Social Apocrits in various habitats of Vadodara
Table 2: Shannon Weiner Diversity Index for bees sampled
at the 4 study sites of the Vadodara and its surroundings.
Habitat Shannon-Weiner index H
Fig. 1: Percentage of Apocrita in Vadodara
Agricultural Fields (AF) 2.2591
CommunityGardens(CG) 2.2127
Table 1: Taxonomic composition of bees and wasps in
the 4 study sites of Vadodara and its surroundings. Fragmented Habitats (FH) 2.2673
ResidentialAreas (RA) 2.1984
S. No. Family Genus No. Species No.
1. Ichneumonidae 2 2 Table 3a: Food of social Apocrits.
2. Evaniidae 1 S. No. Family: Vespidae
3. Chalcididae 1 1. Icaria ferruginea Fabricius Predators
4. Chrysididae 1 2. Polistes fuscatus Fabricius1793 of Noctuid
5. Scoliidae 2 3 Pstigma bernardii Le Guillou caterpillars
6. Pompilidae 1 4. Parapssamophila and grubs
7. Eumenidae 2 5 erythrocephala Menke of
8. Vespidae 5 7 5. Rhynehium abdominate Chrysomelid
9. Sphecidae 5 9 6. R. cubzeipenne beetles.
10. Halictidae 1 1 7. Vespa cincta Fabricius, 1775
Adults of
11. Andrenidae 2 2
Vespa
12. Megachilidae 2 3
predates on
13. Anthophoridae 2 2
Apis indica.
14. Xylocopidae 2 7
Family: Halictidae
15. Apidae 1 3 8 Nomia westwoodii Parasiticon
Total 29 47
otherHalictids.
I . I
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70 Halteres, Vol.3, 2011
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