Wide diversity of pollens in honey samples from Indian Himalayan neighbourhoods: a melissopalynological study

Abstract

Melissopalynological analysis of 34 honey samples (17 summer and 17 autumn samples) collected from feral colonies of Indian hive bee (Apis cerana), European bee (Apis mellifera) and rock bee (Apis dorsata) during 2011 – 2015 from the Shimla Hills of Himachal Pradesh (India) was performed. Pollen from plant taxa belonging to 43 families was found in the honey samples. Of 34 honey samples from the Shimla Hills, 18 were unifloral with 12 pollen types as predominant and the remaining 16 samples were multifloral. The predominant pollen plant taxa of summer were Pyrus sp., Malus domestica, Prunus amygdalus, Prunus sp., Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Citrus sp. and Rhododendron arboreum. In autumn, the predominant pollen plant taxa were Leucaena leucocephala, Salvia officinalis, Eriobotrya japonica, Impatiens balsamina and Prinsepia utilis. Melissopalynological analysis of summer honey collected from Summer Hill and Sarahan tagged these as “mad honey”, since Rhododendron pollen was predominant. The pollen spectrum indicated a diverse bee plant flora, which is promising indicator to augment the beekeeping industry in this region.