Honey production by Africanized honey bees in castor bean cropping/Producao de mel por abelhas africanizadas em plantio de mamoneira

This research aimed to investigate whether Apis mellifera L. bees produce honey in commercial plantations of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) or not. This research was carried out in the Nucleo de Producao Comunitaria Santa Clara, Canto do Buriti, Piaui, Brazil. Two apiaries of six colonies each were installed in two castor bean plots. The first plot was kept free of weeds (clean plot) while the other not (dirty area), presenting herbaceous vegetation between the castor bean rows. Empty supers were given to the colonies as they were required and weighted every seven days afterwards until the end of the experiment 49 days later. There was honey production in all colonies, but honey production did not differ (P>0.05) between apiaries at any weighing. The clean plot produced an average of 18.8±4.0kg honey/colony while the dirty area reached 23.5±3.0. It was concluded that Apis mellifera L. produce and store honey in castor bean cropping areas. Key words: honey bee, castor bean, castor bean honey, beekeeping potential. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo investigar se abelhas Apis mellifera L. produzem mel ou nao em plantio comercial de mamoneira (Ricinus communis L.). A pesquisa foi realizada no Nucleo de Producao Comunitaria Santa Clara, Canto do Buriti, Piaui (PI). Dois apiarios, com seis colonias cada, foram instalados em duas areas de cultivo de mamona. A primeira area era mantida livre de ervas daninhas (area limpa), enquanto a outra nao, apresentando estrato herbaceo entre as fileiras de cultivo (area suja). As colonias receberam melgueiras vazias a medida que necessario e eram pesadas a cada sete dias, ate o final do experimento, aos 49 dias. Houve producao de mel em todas as colonias, porem a producao nao diferiu (P>0,05) entre os apiarios a cada pesagem. A area limpa produziu uma media de 18,8±4,0kg de mel/colonia, enquanto que, na area suja, a produtividade foi de 23,5±3,0. Conclui-se que abelhas Apis mellifera L. produzem e armazenam mel quando introduzidas em areas de cultivo comercial de mamona. Palavras-chave: abelha melifera, mamona, mel de mamoneira, potencial apicola.