Vol. 11, Special Issue 9 (2022)

Author(s):
Babita Kaushal, Kiran Rana, Meena Thakur, Monika, Deepali Bakshi, Vibhuti Sharma, Diksha Devi and Sawraj Jit Singh

Abstract:
Bumblebees contribute to the pollination of various agricultural and horticultural crops. The use of bumblebees in pollination is highly effective even in protected cultivation. Bumblebees are reared in artificial conditions for their use in fields for pollination. Here we have used different domiciles to test out the colony performance of bumblebees in laboratory rearing. Bombus haemorrhoidalis queens were captured from Caryopteris bicolor, Brassica juncea, Salvia moorcroftiana, Adhatoda vasica, Matricaria chamomilla, Lupinus mutabilis, Papaver rhoeas, Trigonella foenum graecum and Delphinium ajacis in nauni area during 2019 and 2020. Among these plants, A. vasica and C. bicolor were the most important flowering plants from which maximum bumblebee queens were collected from February to April. Three types of nesting materials (wood, cardboard, and polypropylene) were used to rear the bumblebee queens viz. wooden boxes, Cardboard boxes, and Polypropylene boxes. Two types of feeding methods were used i.e., feeding in bottle caps and automized feeding. The queens that were kept in standard wooden boxes with automized feeding had a shorter pre-oviposition period of 11.25 days and first worker emergence took place 26.25 days after wax secretion and the highest number of workers in the first brood was 5.50 workers/colony. The next best nesting material was a cardboard box having a wooden floor with feeding in bottle caps and automized feeding in which queens had a pre- oviposition period of 33.75 days, first worker emergence took place 46.33 days after wax secretion and the number of workers in the first brood was 3.25. Polypropylene box with feeding in bottle caps and automized feeding was not accepted by the bumblebee queens due to moisture retention.