Diversity of insect pollinators and their relative abundance associated with Moringa (Moringa oleifera) in Peshawar
Diversity of insect pollinators and their relative abundance associated with Moringa (Moringa oleifera) in Peshawar
Fazli Amin1*, Naveed Ahmed2, Muhammad Salman3, Zia Ur Rahman4 and Mir Manzar Ud Din5
ABSTRACT
The current study was performed at Range Research Garden PFI during 2023 with the objective to analyze the diversity and abundance of insect pollinators visiting the Moringa oleifera orchard in different time intervals. Five trees were randomly selected and observed from 9am-6pm at two hours intervals. The insects were collected through aerial handnet, killed in a killing jar and brought to laboratory for identification. Results showed that total 8 insect species were recorded visiting M. oleifera from three major orders such as hymenoptera, diptera and lepidoptera in this study. Among all, hymenopteran were the most abundant and species rich order as compared to the others. Five species viz. Apis mellifera, Apis dorsata, Apis florea, Apis cerana and Xylocopa fenestrata belongs to Hymenoptera, one species from order Diptera (Eristalis tenax) and two species from Lepidoptera (Papilio demoleus and Danaus chrysippus) were recorded. Honey bees were recorded in highest percentage (61.34%) while the lowest values (8.25%) was observed for Xylocopa fenestrata. Peak pollinator's activities were recorded in the morning hours (9-10am) as compared to the later part of the day. Overall Apis mellifera, Apis dorsata and Eristalis tenax showed higher abundance.
Keywords: Moringa oleifera, Pollinators, Relative abundance, Diversity.
Keywords: Moringa oleifera, Pollinators, Relative abundance, Diversity.
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June 2021
Vol. 71, Iss. 2
