Data on composition of corbicular pollen loads from 'Diversity matters: Diet of Apis cerana in Southeast India includes one consistently occurring and several seasonally available floral sources'
Description
An Excel file containing the 87 pollen taxa identified and counted in 388 corbicular pollen samples, collected weekly, over three years (March 2018 to December 2021) at Merveille, an eco-restoration site in Puducherry region, Southeast India. Pollen samples collected in the field were carefully packed in sterile vials and were acetolysed (Erdtman 1966) in the lab and pollen slides mounted in glycerine and covered with a glass slip to carry out Light microscopic analyses ( under x400 magnification). The Thanikaimoni Pollen slides Collection hosted at the French Institute of Pondicherry was used to generate this data the highest taxonomical level possible. The aim was to identify and count at least 1000 pollen grains in every sample and on an average ~1600 pollen/sample have been counted. Precise species attributions are made based on the site vegetation surveys and the plant-centric visual observations of bee visits. As is the norm, the pollen taxa list is of mixed taxonomical hierarchy with most taxa at generic level and some at Family or more than one Family level.
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Steps to reproduce
Pollen samples collected in the field were carefully packed in sterile vials and were acetolysed (Erdtman 1966) in the lab and pollen slides mounted in glycerine and covered with a glass slip to carry out Light microscopic analyses ( under x400 magnification). The aim was to identify and count at least 1000 pollen grains in every sample and on an average ~1600 pollen/sample have been counted. This is to enable an optimal assesment of the bees' diet preferences and to not miss rare taxa.