Variation of plant species as feed sources in honey beekeeping in Jambi and South Sumatera Indonesia

Plant species as a feed source for honey bees are an important factor in their survival. In addition to supporting the production process of honey bees, plants also affect the quality of honey produced. This study aimed to study plant species’ presence in honey bees’ lives and behaviors. The research used a survey method with honey beekeepers as respondents in Jambi and South Sumatra, asking about various plants grown around rearing boxes. Beekeepers have planted various plants producing pollen, resin, and nectar. Plants can also be categorized into three major groups: annual fruit, ornamental, and industrial plants. The distance between plants and rearing boxes will affect the different behaviors of honey bees. In honeybees such as Apis cerana, planting was done at a radius of 5–100 meters, while Apis mellifera in Jambi was mostly farmed around acacia and oil palm trees. For stingless bees, such as Heterotrigona itama, the presence of plants must be closer, considering their ability to fly was more limited than that of honey bees. Ornamental plants such as Antigonon flavescens were visited by honey bees in the morning (7–9 am) and afternoon (3–5 pm), while annual fruit plants were visited in the morning (7–9 am).


Introduction
In the life of honey bees, plants as a food source must be available in sufficient quantities, have appropriate nutritional content, and be within their range [1].Some plants are the primary food source, while others play a supporting role.The content of the primary food source is nectar and pollen [2], but resin is also an important ingredient in supporting metabolic processes in producing honey [3].Feed availability is one of the factors affecting the success of honeybee cultivation [4].
Various types of plants have been known to contain nectar, pollen, and resin [5].These plants are either intentionally planted or grow naturally.The presence of plants and food availability for honey bees are very important.In addition, flowering time will also affect the food availability, such as plants with flowers available throughout the year, such as coconut, coffee, cacao, strawberry tree 'kersen' (Muntingia calabura), and the shame plant (Mimosa pudica) [6].The distance between bee boxes and feed sources is also an important factor.In addition to making it easier to obtain feed, an accessible distance to honey bees will make it easier to find and obtain feed and bring it back to the hive [7].In addition, the maintenance box should also be placed near the beekeeper's house.It is due to the safety factor of the bee boxes.For example, it is safe for the surrounding community from stinging honeybees (Apis mellifera and A. cerana) and also safe from ignorant hands.
The timing of honeybee visits to flowering plants is also very important.It reminds us of the nature and behavior of honey bees, who prefer flowers that have just bloomed in the morning or that bloom throughout the day and for a longer time [8].The content of food, especially nectar, pollen, and 1346 (2024) 012028 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1346/1/012028 2 resins owned by plants, also affects the time it takes honey bees to visit.Dobson [9] reported that when plant flowers have just bloomed in the morning, they will emit a unique aroma, attracting insects-honey bees and other insects-to come.Therefore, this study focused more on the types of plants planted by beekeepers, the distance of plants from the rearing box, and their effect on honey bee behavior.

Research locations
The research was conducted in three districts in Jambi province and three in South Sumatera.The research used a survey method by interviewing honey beekeepers as respondents to determine the types of plants deliberately planted by beekeepers, the types of nectar, pollen, and resin-producing plants, and the placement of honey bee boxes.The research lasted for three months (February-April 2020).The research team obtained the data by visiting honey beekeepers, asking questions, and recording the respondents' answers.In addition, the research team also made observations around the honey bee apiary, the house where the farmer lives, and the types of plants around the honey bee farm.

Variables observed in this study include: 2.2.1. Types of plants.
The types of plants around a radius of 500 m were recorded.They were divided into three groups: annual fruit ornamental and estate plantation.These data were noted as a database.They will be customized with data from beekeepers.

The closest placement distance of the bee box to the beekeeper's house.
The bee boxes were usually placed around the house.For security and safety reasons, beekeepers placed the boxes at varying distances.Therefore, the closest and farthest distance from the box to the house was measured.

Type of crop and distance of the rearing box from the crop site.
The type of crop cultivated by the beekeeper was measured from the location of the rearing box.Measurements started from the closest distance and ended with the farthest distance.

Time of visit and number of honey bees visiting plants
The timing of honey bee visits to plants at the site was determined with observations made in the morning (07.00-09.30am) and afternoon (03.00-05.30pm).The types of plants visited were observed, and the number of honey and stingless bees visiting the flowers was recorded.

Potential food was available and visited by stingless bees in South Sumatra.
A special observation of the potential presence of plants was done.The types of plants present and their potential as food sources for these bees were recorded at the survey sites.

Data analysis
Data obtained were analyzed descriptively by Ms. Excel, and following the research objectives, they were presented in tables, charts, and figures.

Types of crops
The result of collecting data from honey beekeepers in Jambi and South Sumatra is planting various crops to fulfill their honey bees' food needs.These crops could be categorized into three major groups, namely Annual fruit, ornamental and estate plantation (Table 1).After grouping, it was found that 40.7% were annual fruit plants, 37% were ornamental crops, and 22.2% were estate plants (Figure 1).

Distance of bee boxes from the house
Bee boxes (boxes for rearing honeybees) were generally placed around housing.The distance between bee boxes and the house varied depending on the type of honey bee being kept and safety factors.In two provinces (Jambi and South Sumatra), in general, stingless bees' boxes were located near the house with a distance of about 0-2 m, while for honey bees, the distance was longer, about 10-500 m or more than 10 km (Table 2).

<3 <3
The distance between bee boxes and the beekeeper's house was usually based on honey bee species.Generally, A. cerana and A. mellifera rearing boxes were placed further from the house than the stingless bee species (Table 2).It ensured that the beekeeper's neighbors or people in the neighborhood were not disturbed by honey bees.In addition, it was also considered because the honey bee species can fly farther than stingless bees [10].

Plant types and position of rearing box
Observations on the types of plants and their distance from the rearing box were made by measuring the distance between them.With annual crops such as flowers, the distance was closer (<3 m) than with perennial crops (>5 m).Even with industrial crops such as acacia, the distance between them was more than 10 m.However, in Jambi, one group of beekeepers placed the rearing boxes between oil palm plants so that the distance between the boxes and the feed source was less than <2 m.The data are presented in Table 3 and Figure 2.
Local name/scientific name Distance between plant source feed and bee boxes (m) Jambi South Sumatera Giant sensitive weed (Mimosa invisa)

>2 m <10
Coffee (Coffea acanephora) >10 >10 The distance range was grouped into three levels (Figure 2).Beekeepers in Jambi and South Sumatra preferred cultivating plants in range 2 (between 5 and 10 m), namely 60.87 and 53.85%, respectively.The distance from bee boxes to feed sources dramatically influences the success of honeybees in obtaining their feed.The closer the food source, the shorter it takes bees to gather food.Likewise, the energy needed to go back and forth to visit the food source became more efficient [7].

Feeding potential and visitation of stingless bees
Potential plants, both cultivated and wild, had the opportunity to become food sources with nectar and pollen content.Despite their availability, honey bees did not visit all plants.Honey bees prefer to visit plants depending on plant species and location altitudes.The types of potential plants that were available and visited by honeybees were presented in Table 4. Figure 3 showed that in highland, stingless bees were found to have the highest percentage of visits (38.9%), followed by middleland (33.3%) and lowland (27.8%).In general, both cultivated and natural, potential plants to feed honey bees were available in the field.However, with several types of plants, honey bees can choose which type of food to visit [4].The selection of plants was related to the time of blooming synchronized with the visiting of honey bees, flower height (low or high), the distance between bee boxes, and the location of plants [9].

Honey bee visitation time and population
Observation of honey bee foraging behavior varied from morning to afternoon.The blooming of the flowers in the morning was usually visited by more honey bees than in the afternoon (Table 5).Plants that continue to bloom throughout the year receive more frequent visits, such as the A. flavescens flower, which was visited by the most honey bees (> ten individuals) in the morning and afternoon.
Longan flowers usually bloom in the morning and receive the highest number of visits (6-8 per plant).
In the afternoon, flowers such as Zinnia, water guava, longan, chili, and star fruit were rarely visited by honeybees (Table 5 and Figure 4).Although beekeepers cultivated many types of plants, the availability of these plants was not necessarily in the location or around the beekeeper's residence.Judging from stingless bee species visiting flowers, H. itama was the most commonly found on various plants with nectar and pollentaking activities.It followed the statement from researcher [3], who reported that most stingless bee species reared in Jambi and South Sumatra were H. itama.The rearing box shape specificity of honey bees and placement depended on honey bee species [7].In Figure 5d, the stacked boxes were usually used to keep small stingless bees, such as Tetragonula laeviceps, while the large ones were placed separately (Figures 5c and 5e).It was related to the distance between houses and the placement of rearing boxes close to or attached to the house's outer wall.Figures 5a and 5b showed that the type of honey bee kept was a stingless bee, while the rearing box placed inside the oil palm plantation was usually A. mellifera honey bee.Beekeepers did it to make maintenance more accessible, close to food sources, and safe from human activities.At least five factors must be considered when placing bee box boxes: safety, neighbors, local wisdom, water, and sunlight [11].Some beekeepers took into account that the community around the bee boxes did not feel disturbed by the presence of stinging bees that can disrupt human life due to their stings.

Discussion
Beekeepers in Jambi and South Sumatra generally cultivate plants as sources of honey bee feed.The types of plants include annual fruit plants, horticultural plants (vegetables and seasonal fruits), and industrial plants (Table 1).In general, due to the vast plantations in South Sumatra, beekeepers also utilize oil palm and acacia plantations as places for placing bee boxes [12].Nevertheless, annual fruit crops were the favorite crops planted by beekeepers (Figure 1).It was in line with BPS South Sumatra data for 2022, which states that the area of annual fruit crops has increased from 2020 to 2022.

The shape of bee boxes and its location
The shape of the honey bee rearing box varied, as did its placement both around the house and in a location far from the house.The shape was either like a box of a specific size, made of hollowed logs, or even maintained as it was in nature.As for the placement of the rearing box, some were attached to the wall outside the house, and some were located around the oil palm plantation (Figure 5).
Honey bee species kept in Jambi and South Sumatra were six species, which were classified into two groups, namely 1) honey bees (A.cerana and A. mellifera) and 2) Stingless bees (H.itama, L. terminate, T. laeviceps, and T. apicalis).Since stinging species were quite dangerous to humans, the beekeeper placed the bee box away from the settlement.It ensured that the beekeeper's neighbors or people in the neighborhood were not disturbed by honey bees.In addition to safety reasons, there was also consideration that honey bees could find food sources far from the hive [10].The type of flowering plants was thought to affect the distance between bee boxes and the location of the plants.In the case of plants with flowers that appear throughout the year, such Coral vine A. leptopus, shorter distances will allow stingless bees to get food quickly.It was under research [14], which reported that the body size of the stingless bee was small because its ability to fly was not too far from the nest.Pratama et al. [15] reported that Trigona stingless bees look for food sources at a maximum distance of 497m.The type of plant most favored by stingless bees in South Sumatra was coral vine A. leptopus (Figure 4), which was visited both in the morning and afternoon (Table 4).It was assumed because of its high nectar and pollen content [16,17,18].
The food content of various plants met honey bees' nutritional needs, including nectar, pollen, and resin.Depending on the type of plant, there were different flowering periods.For example, roses, jasmine, and A. leptopus almost all year [7], unlike acacia plants, which flower at a certain time.With different flowering times, this can cause the availability of food for honey bees to be fulfilled.If the flowering period were short, it would result in a lack of food, so it was feared that the colony would move or honey production would be lower [4].
The location of flowers with different height positions will also affect the ease with which honey bees can obtain their food.If the flower position was lower, honey bees could easily reach it, especially stingless bees.Honey bees, especially stingless bees, could easily reach the plants (herbaceous).Only some honeybees can reach plants with flowers at a certain altitude, such as acacia plants.It was closely related to these honey bees' behavior and foraging ability [9].The placement of bee boxes must be done carefully and precisely.Beekeepers place bee boxes based on the location of the feed source (plants) and the farmer's house [19,20].In addition, there were also safety considerations for the bees themselves [21].At least five factors must be considered in the placement of bee boxes, namely safety, neighbors, local wisdom, and sunlight [11].Some beekeepers took into account that the community around the bee boxes did not feel disturbed by the presence of stinging bees that can disrupt human life due to their stings.

Conclusion
The types of plants favored by honeybees were those that flower throughout the year and contain nectar and pollen.These plants belong to annual, industrial, and horticultural crops.The distance between food source plants and rearing boxes ranges from <3 meters until 50 meters.Annual fruit plants were visited by honey bees mainly in the morning (7-9 am); however, flowering ornamental plants were visited in the morning (7-9 am) and afternoon (3-5 pm).The distance between plants and rearing boxes will affect the different behaviors of honey bees.The presence of plants must be closer, considering the ability of stingless bees to fly was more limited than that of honey bees.Most beekeepers placed their rearing boxes near their houses at a distance of 0-2 m.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Number (%) of different types of plant

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. The number of plants with distance ranges to bee boxes

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Number of stingless bees found at the time of observation

Figure 5 .
S. aqueum A. leptopus D. longan C. annuum MVarious shapes and locations of bee boxes owned by beekeepers in Jambi (a, b, c) and in South Sumatera (d, e, f): a. natural bee boxes; b. placement of bee boxes closed to housing; c. placement bee boxes in oil palm estate; d. handmade bee boxes; e. placement bee boxes in backyard of housing; f. placement of bee boxes closed to oil palm plant.

Table 2 .
Species of honey bees and the closest distance of bee boxes to the beekeeper's house.

Table 3 .
Plant species and their distance to bee boxes in Jambi and South Sumatra

Table 5 .
Time of visit, stingless bees were found during the observation