Academic Journal of Entomology 8 (2): 84-91, 2015 ISSN 1995-8994 © IDOSI Publications, 2015 DOI: 10.5829/idosi.aje.2015.8.2.94114 Corresponding Author: A. Venkatachalapathi, Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College (Autonomous), Coimbatore - 641 029, Tamil Nadu, India. Tel: 09789523566. 84 Study on Diversity of Social Bees Foraging Medicinal Plants in Walayar Valley of Coimbatore District, Western Ghats, India A. Venkatachalapathi, B. Subbaiyan, S. Jagathes Kumar, V. Aravindhan and S. Paulsamy 1 1 1 2 1 Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College (Autonomous), 1 Coimbatore - 641 029, Tamil Nadu, India. Department of Botany, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore - 641 046, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Abstract: The present study was conducted in Walayar Valley of Coimbatore district in Western Ghats, India to study the diversity and distribution of honeybees foraging medicinal plants. The survey was conducted through monthly visit during January 2012 to December 2013 and the vegetation was analyzed using one-hectare sample plots (Quadrats). Moving on the quadrats, flowering plants found at about 20m radius were visited and observed for the presence and foraging activities of honeybees within a predetermined period of 10 minutes. Plants were scored as bee foraging medicinal plant species when at least three (3) honeybees had visited and foraged on the flowers within the observation period. The results indicated that 66 species of plants were promising as potential forages for honeybees. Though, the plants were not found to be evenly distributed over the entire study region, all the sites had some reasonable population of bee foraging medicinal plants. The implications of these findings to prospective beekeepers are discussed in this paper which reveals that the social bees are mainly helpful to tribal people economy and sustaining the floral biodiversity. Key words: Diversity Social bees Medicinal plants Sustenance Western Ghats India INTRODUCTION Bees play an important, but little recognized role in most The global concern about the deforestation and cover for at least 3 to 4 months each year. In India, 90% of degradation of ecological communities makes a subject of the pollination of crops grown across 50 million hectares Plant-Animal interactions. Much recent attention has is done by bees [5]. focused on the importance of pollinators, especially Bees and most flowering plants have developed a insects, in the production of food crops for human complex interdependence during millions of years. consumption [1]. Certain groups of plants are particularly An estimated 80 percent of flowering plants are at risk notably of medicinal importance [2]. An estimated entomophiles i.e. depending more or less on insect 62% of all flowering plants may be suffering reduced pollination to be able to reproduce and it is estimated regeneration from seeds as a result of pollinator scarcity that half of the pollinators of tropical plants are bees. [3]. Bee-flower interactions that develop in a phyto-varied Study on pollination of threatened and economically area with diversified melisso-fauna constitute one of the important species would be valuable to conserve the many webs that interweave in the community structuring concerned species. of an environment. These interactions, when interpreted, The plant-animal mutualisms provide a good model reveal the functionality of pollinators acting as specialists for understanding the underlying causes of ecological on certain plant groups or as generalists. and evolutionary patterns [4]. Pollinators strongly Some species of plants and bees have developed a influence ecological relationships, ecosystem close interdependence in connection with pollination. conservation and stability, genetic variation in the plant Such a mutual adaptation and interdependence between community, floral diversity, specialization and evolution. a plant and pollinator is a result of a long and intimate terrestrial ecosystems where there is green vegetation