Vol. 11, Special Issue 11 (2022)

Author(s):
Bhojeshwari Sahu, Ankita Gupta and Sonali Deole

Abstract:
Bees are the most significant group of pollinators in the world and they play a crucial role in agricultural productivity and the health of natural ecosystems. The recent decline in pollinator populations has highlighted the importance of protecting native bee populations and conducting research on the ecological needs of native bees. In this study, we investigated two types of landscape as foraging habitat for native bees. The survey was conducted in different agro-climatic zones of Chhattisgarh state. Sampling sites were divided into two categories based on habitat type viz., natural and agroecosystems. Species richness, evenness, similarity and diversity were calculated for both habitats by using different indices. A comparison of the species richness of the two ecosystems revealed that bee diversity differs markedly among ecosystem types. Bees from natural habitat made up a smaller proportion of the community than those from agricultural habitat. A significant difference was found between natural and agricultural ecosystems. The natural ecosystem was found to have significantly higher bee diversity in the Shannon Wiener Diversity Index, Simpson's Diversity Index, species richness in Menhinick's index and species evenness.