Determination of the diversity and abundance of pollinators (hymenoptera, apidae) of yellow passion fruit (passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) in southern brazil

Aiming to verify the sufficiency of diversity and abundance of bees in two areas of passion fruit cultivation, one with agricultural pesticides (area 1) and the other, of organic planting (area 2), in southern Brazil, sampling collections were untaken monthly, from January 2016 to May 2016, using entomological nets on flowering feet and tagging of individuals with numbered tags. Individuals not visually identified were prepared for identification. The flowers that were open were marked, per month, and the fruiting rate was inspected after 15 days. A total of 276 individuals were collected in area 1, of the species Xylocopa frontalis (60%), Bombusmorio (36%), Xylocopabrasilianorum (2%), Centris (Melacentris) dorsata (2%) and Centris (Trachina) similis (36%). In area 2, 267 individuals were captured: Xylocopa frontalis (44%), Xylocopabrasilianorum (31%) and Bombusmorio (25%). There was seasonality of the pollinators. The daily activities of the pollinators were attuned to the opening hours of the flowers. The number of estimated pollinators reached the minimum amount required for pollination of the crop. The fruiting is moderate and correlated to the number of pollinators in one area. There is possibly a need for a larger number of individuals for a higher pollination rate.