Raed Almuhammad⁽¹⁾ Nouraldin Daher-Hjaij*⁽²⁾ and Feras Al-Ghammaz⁽¹⁾

 (1). Administration of Natural Resources Research, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.

Received: 09/05/2016                           Accepted: 24/07/2016

Abstract

Honey dew, which is produced by honeybee workers from plant living parts (blooming buds) excretions or the excretions of plant sucker insects is an important source to feed honeybee apiaries and for honey production. A survey for honey dew, which is produced by forest trees was conducted in the natural forestry sites of Homs governorate during 2011-2014 seasons. The relative density, relative covering and the relative frequency were calculated for each species and their importance for honeybee apiaries. Results showed that six species of forestry trees excreted honey dew: Normal oak (Quercus calliprinus W.), Gall oak (Quercus infectoria O.), Semi-platonic oak (Quercus pseudocerris B.), Bruty pine (Pinus brutia T.), Fruitful pine (Pinus pinea L.) and Juniper (Juniperus excelsa B.). The normal oak had the highest density and frequency in Alqusair and Talkalakh regions, with a relative importance ranged between 114.1 and 140 in Alqusair and between 74.7 and 120.5 in Talkalakh. Meanwhile, the Fruitful pine had the highest relative importance in western, southern and northern slopes and it was proximate with other oak species in the eastern slope. The similarity in the plant societies of the three regions was studied by calculating the Sorensen similarity index. The highest values were in Talkhalakh and Homs center with an average of 88.88%. The recorded forest trees in this study are a good honey dew excreted especially Juniper, and can be used in feeding honeybee apiaries.

Key words: Forest trees, Honey dew, Honey bee, Homs.

Full paper in Arabic: Quantitative Characteristics of Honey Dew Excreted by Forestry Trees and Their Magnitudes to Honeybee Apiaries in Homs Governorate