Pollination of Apis cerana cerana in flowering period of olive based on DNA metabarcoding

Apis cerana cerana had the largest number of pollinators in olive, so in order to determine whether A. cerana cerana was a pollinator of olive trees, this study was conducted to analyze the plant species in pollens carried by A. cerana cerana in olive plantations using the DNA metabarcoding technology. The proportion of A. cerana cerana among all pollinators was determined by collecting olive pollinators in the plantation. By comparing the plant species and their abundance in the samples, we concluded that olive pollen was the main food source of A. cerana cerana.

东方蜜蜂中华亚种（Apis cerana cerana）在橄榄种植园的传粉昆虫中数量占比最高。为明确东方蜜蜂中华亚种是否为橄榄树的传粉昆虫，本研究采用DNA元条形码（DNA metabarcoding）技术，对橄榄种植园内东方蜜蜂中华亚种所携带花粉中的植物物种进行分析；通过采集橄榄种植园内的传粉昆虫，确定了东方蜜蜂中华亚种在所有传粉昆虫中的占比；通过比对样本中的植物物种及其丰度，本研究得出结论：橄榄花粉为东方蜜蜂中华亚种的主要食物来源。