Artificial bee nests consist of small wooden blocks have been developed at ICAR-DCR, Puttur for an important cashew pollinator viz., Braunsapis spp. Neat circular holes of 1.5 – 5 mm diameter and 7-9 cm length were made in the wooden blocks and the blocks were arranged in a stand as in figure 29. Besides, thin sticks of bamboo, Lantana camara, Cenchrus sp., and cashew of 15 -20 cm length were made as small bundles and kept in-between. It was observed that, bigger holes in wooden blocks were occupied by Megachilids, Ceratina sp. besides a lot of wasps and Tetragonula sp. Whereas, medium sized holes (1.5 to 3 mm dia.) were successfully occupied by Braunsapis sp. (> 60 %) during the course of time. The tiny sticks with holes especially of bamboo and Cenchrus sp. were also well occupied by Braunsapis sp. Thus, establishing such artificial bee nests could help in conserving these bees which in turn help in pollination of cashew and other plants
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed non risus. Suspendisse lectus tortor, dignissim sit amet, adipiscing nec, ultricies sed, dolor.
