FORAGING BEHAVIOR OF CARPENTER BEE (APIDAE: XYLOCOPINAE) SPECIES ON STONE FRUIT CROPS (PEACH, PLUM, AND CHERRY) AND CORRELATION STUDIES WITH ABIOTIC FACTORS

The carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.). are wood-nesting generalist pollinators of broad landscape distribution that exhibit varying levels of sociality in the agricultural fields. The foraging behavior of Xylocopa violacea and Xylocopa valga was characterized by speed, visits, percent, visitation and time spend per flower. On peach, species X. valga makes the highest total visits (3.02); while as, X. violacea makes the maximum visitation rate and percent visitation of 0.757 and 8.085, respectively. On plum flowers least period of 9.1 seconds was consumed by X. violacea, while as, the highest time duration of 20.0 seconds was spent by X. valga. The bee has a wide range of food plants, higher speed and long-season activity. Forging activity exhibited a different spearman correlation coefficient concerning tolerance under high temperature, variable degree-day heat accumulation, rainfall, and heavy winds. This makes them efficient and attractive pollinators of peach, plum, and cherry crops. The present study was carried out during 2013-2016. The patches of stone fruit crops selected were located in different types of landscape categories.