Promising native bees make nest in cashew plants

Abstract

Cashew, Anacardium occidentale L. is a cross pollinated commercial tree nut crop. Though male and hermaphrodite flowers are present in same inflorescence, the arrangement of male and female reproductive parts of the flowers and sticky nature of pollen grains necessitates help of insects for successful pollination and fruit set in cashew. Bees including wild bees play a major role in cashew pollination. Wild bees play key ecological service in most ecosystems, but they are often neglected or underestimated. Surveys conducted at ICAR- Directorate of cashew research, Puttur resulted in location of nests of several stem nesting bees belonging to Apidae in the thin dried stem portions or cut ends of cashew sticks. The nests of bees recorded in cashew sticks include, Braunsapis mixta (Smith), B. picitarsis (Cameron), B. malliki Reyes, Ceratina hieroglyphica Smith and C. binghamii Cockerell. These bees are important pollinators of cashew, besides honey bees. Presence of circular neat hole at the entrance of dried sticks is an indication of occupancy by these stem nesting bees.