Community of floral visiting insects of Ocimum selloi Benth (Lamiaceae) in Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

• Main Authors: Andreas Köhler, Alexandre Somavilla, Karine Schoeninger
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2012-03-01
• Series: Biotemas
• Subjects: Apis mellifera; Entomofauna; Hymenoptera; Pollination
• Online Access: http://www.biotemas.ufsc.br/volumes/pdf/volume251/55a63.pdf

This paper aimed to list the community of floral visitors of Ocimum selloi, indicate the potential pollinators, and their patterns of visitation. The collection of flower visitors was carried out in 2007, in an anthroposophical area, with analysis of constancy and dominance of taxa. A total of 653 insects was collected, belonging to seven orders; Hymenoptera, with 370 individuals, was the most representative group. Thirty six families were identified, being 12 of Hymenoptera and eight of Diptera the most diverse ones. Apidae was the family which showed the greatest constancy and dominance, especially through the bee Apis mellifera L., 1758 (n = 223), followed by Halictidae (n = 107). Most of the foraging activity was observed between 9a.m. and 11a.m. It was found that A. mellifera was the main floral visitor and potential pollinator of O. selloi.