Pollen analysis of some Apis cerana Fabr honeys from Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract - Pollen analyses of 6 apiary (extracted) honey samples collected during March and June, 1982 from 3 districts, Vishakhapatnam (2), East Godavari (1) and Guntur (3) of Andhra Pradesh in the southern part of India, showed that these honeys come from 2 discrete floristic regimes: deciduous forest (Vishakhapatnam and East Godavari) and agricultural tracts (Guntur). The East Godavari honey was unifloral with Anogeissus latifolia (48.67%) as the predominant pollen type. The remaining samples were multifloral. Lagerstroemia parviflora, Crotalaria juncea and Schleichera oleosa constitute the chief nectar sources of the forest area of Vishakhapatnam during late summer. Borassus flabellifer, Hygrophila sp, Crotalaria juncea, Cucumis sp, Phyla nodiflora and Momordica charantia, however, represent the main bee plants of the agricultural tracts of the Guntur district during the summer.