Diversity of wild bees in the Luki Biosphere Reserve (DR Congo)

Abstract

Bees are the most numerous pollinators of most crops and wild plants, their current state of knowledge in the DRC is very fragmentary. In order to update knowledge in this area, it seemed necessary to carry out a study with the aim of inventorying and evaluating the diversity of wild bees in the Luki Biosphere Reserve precisely in the transition zone. Using cup traps and entomological nets, the bees were sampled for 4 years (2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021). A total of 4843 individuals were caught belonging to 41 species, 3 families and 5 subfamilies. After analysis, it emerges that 3 families have been identified with predominance of the family Apidae (4307 individuals, 88.9 %), followed by that of Megachilidae (444 individuals, 9.16 %). On a specific scale, Apis mellifera recorded the highest abundance with 2584 individuals, or 53.4 %, followed by Dactylurina staudingeri with 508 individuals or 10.5 %. In terms of occurrence, apoïdae assemblages are dominated by very common species with 19 species. In addition, the rainy season had a significant influence on the abundance of wild bees in the Luki Biosphere Reserve.

Keywords: Biodiversity, Luki Biosphere Reserve, Bees, pollinator