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The Role of Insectivorous Vertebrates and Apiary and Other Predators in the Establishment of an Apiary in an Agroforest Environment, Sariaya, Quezon, the Philippines
Dissertation Abstract:
The role of some insectivorous vertebrates in a piculture in agroforestry was studied by observing their feeding habits. Nonvertebrate bee enemies were observed while some plants food sources of bees were identified through pollen analysis.
Crop and stomach content analyses revealed that four of the 16 dissected vertebrates were bee predators. These were Bufo marinus (L.), Chaetura gigantea gigantea (Temmick), Monticola solitarius philippinensis (P.L.S. Muller), and Artamus leucorhynchus leucohynchus (Linnaeus). They had 0.26 percent, 66.46 percent, 5.56 percent, and 10.71 percent bee fragments examined in their crops and stomachs, respectively. Merops philippinus philippinus (L.) was seen feeding on bees during the latter part of the study.
Among eight bird populations studied, only Lanius cristatus lucionensis (Linneaus) was significantly correlated with population density of foraging honeybees. Population fluctuations between C. gigantea gigantea and foraging honeybees demonstrated their "predator-prey" interaction, which was described by the Lotka-Volterra models.
C. gigantea gigantea (Temminck) was observed in the study area from October 1988 to January 1989. The birds visited the apiary in groups of 3-39 individuals, usually early in the morning until late in the afternoon. Consumption of bees by C. gigantea gigantea ranged from 229 to 449 bees per day. A. leucorhynchus leucorhynchus was seen preying on queen bees and drones that were mating in the air.
M. philippinus philippinus (L.) was considered dangerous to the bees only when present in big groups. Foulbrood diseases, Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans, and Galleria mellonella (L.), were found to be the bees' most important enemies in the area.
Eleven species of pollen were determined as food sources of the honeybees. Cocos nucifera (L.) was the dominant source for six consecutive months, accounting for 91.59 percent of the pollen sample in August 1988, 97.12 percent in September 1988, 86.72 percent in October 1988, 63.45 percent in November 1988, 71.68 percent in December 1988, and 94.25 percent in January 1989.