ABSTRACT

Insect pollinator communities associated with the three medicinal plant species of genus Berberis (B. chitria, B. lycium and B. asiatica) were studied in and around Nainital, Western Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India to assess their quantitative spectrum. A total of 249 individuals of insect pollinators belonging to 21 species under four orders and eight families were found visiting these plant species during their flowering period. Lepidoptera was the most dominant order with 10 species followed by Diptera (seven species), Hymenoptera (three species) and Coleoptera with single species. Among the three species of Berberis, B. chitria accounts a maximum number of insect pollinators with 16 species, followed by B. lycium with 14 species and B. asiatica with 12 species. Eristalis tenax, Apis cerana, Episyrphus balteatus and Eristalis cerealis were the most abundant insect pollinators of the Berberis plants during the entire study.

摘要

在印度北阿坎德邦西喜马拉雅山奈尼塔尔及其周围研究了与小檗属三种药用植物物种（B. chitria、B. lycium 和 B. asiatica）相关的昆虫传粉者群落，以评估它们的定量谱。共有249只昆虫传粉昆虫，属于4目8科21种，在这些植物开花期间访问它们。鳞翅目占优势目最多，有 10 种，其次是双翅目（7 种）、膜翅目（3 种）和鞘翅目，单种。在三种小檗属植物中，B. chitria的昆虫传粉媒介数量最多，有 16 种，其次是B. lycium14 种，B. asiatica 12 种。在整个研究过程中，Eristalis tenax、Apis cerana、Episyrphus balteatus和Eristalis Cereis是小檗植物最丰富的昆虫传粉媒介。