Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment

Bees play a critical role in the pollination of many canopy trees in the tropics (Bawa 1990). Although their importance has been highlighted, very few studies have attempted to study the interactions of bees with plants they pollinate. This is mainly due to diverse species of bees involved and the colossal number of food plants they interact with in the forests. Tree species from the canopies of wet forests are predominantly pollinated by two species of honey bees Apis dorsata (rock bee) and Apis cerana (Indian honey bee). A. dorsata is seen in a wide range of habitats in the Indian sub-continent, and may appear as a generalist. Interestingly they seem to have very intricate migratory pattern in the Southern Western Ghats region. The arrival of Apis dorsata coincides with the flowering of the canopy species Palaquium ellipticum in the wet evergreen forests. Further analysis revealed that P. ellipticum was a reliable nectar source to the rock bees. The reason being that P. elipticum is the only species among A. dorsata’s food plants which flowered annually, was common in the site and held copious nectar. The hive density in the site reflected flowering intensity of this species. P ellipticum acted as a magnet species for other A. dorsata dependent tree species that flowered subsequently.