Excessive Nectar Intake from <i>Lantana camara</i> L. Punish Honeybee, <i>Apis mellifera</i> during the Dearth Period

Abstract

A study was conducted to scientifically validate the beekeeper’s perceptions about toxicity of Lantana camara to honey bee, Apis mellifera. Firstly, the floral visits to the source plant during honey flow and dearth period were recorded and correlated with the observed mortality in the bee colonies. A strong correlation was observed between floral visits and bee mortality. Lantadene was extracted and its effect was demonstrated through a randomized experiment to investigate the effect of lantadene on bee colonies. For this, colonies were fed with different concentrations of lantadene mixed sugar candy and the mortality was compared with those fed without it. It was found that excessive floral visits and nectar intake during dearth period is associated with bee mortality through lantadene.