The foraging activity of Carpenter bee, Xylocopa fenestrata on the major crops of Eastern Rajasthan, India

The foraging activity of Xylocopa fenestrata was studied for analyzing its role in the pollination of plants to enhance crop production in the Chomu tehsil of Rajasthan, India. Xylocopa fenestrata were collected by hand sweeping net and by implanting artificial carpenter bee nests .The foraging activity of Xylocopa fenestrata showed mutualistic relationship with different plant species in the winter season in which Xylocopa fenestrata collected pollens and nectar from the flowers for nutrition and helped the plants in the pollination. Xylocopa fenestrata behaved differently with eight experimental plants on the basis of size, colour and odor of the flowers. It was found that foraging trip was affected by the different time intervals of the day on the basis of temperature, humidity and wind velocity. Xylocopa fenestrata visited on more flowers and spent least time per flower in thenoon to increase foraging trip. It was observed foraging activity was affected by the climatic factors and flower characters. Statistical data analysis by using MS Excel-2019, SPSS version-25 and R- confirmed the significance of experimental result