Abstract:
Melissopalynology or study of pollen is crucial in understanding the crops and plants
that are foraged by bees as their food source because bees have species-specifc preferences of
pollens. Pollen analysis is also important to the sustainable development of apiculture industry
especially for the premium marketable honey and honey products. The aims of this study were to
identify the pollens collected by stingless bees, Lepidotrigona terminata (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
in an apiary of Besut, Terengganu from November 2012 until February 2013 and to investigate the
effective time of foraging activity by the stingless bees. A total of 11 types of pollens were collected
from the L. terminata foragers, however only 9 types of the pollens were successfully identifed.
The identifed pollens were Murraya paniculata, Citrus hystrix, Calophyllum inophyllum, Ixora
coccinea, Bougainvillea glabra (Type 1 and 2), Mimosa pudica, Asystasia gangetica and Suregada
multiflora. Ixora coccinea was the most dominant pollen collected by L. terminata. Morning (0800-
1100) and late afternoon (1400-1800) were found to be the most effective times for foraging activity
of L. terminata. Our fndings provide information on the favored bee plant species which is clearly
an important pre-requisite for launching apiary industry in any locality. It is hoped that this study
will enhance the knowledge of beekeepers on crop preferences for stingless bee cultures.
