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.

中华蜜蜂（Apis cerana cerana）是橄榄园中数量最多的传粉者。为明确中华蜜蜂是否为油橄榄的传粉昆虫，本研究采用DNA元条形码（DNA metabarcoding）技术，对橄榄园中华蜜蜂携带花粉中的植物物种组成进行分析。研究通过采集橄榄园中的传粉昆虫，明确了中华蜜蜂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，最终得出结论：油橄榄花粉是中华蜜蜂的主要食物来源。