1. Fláje–Kiefern (Krušné Hory Mountains): Late Glacial and Holocene vegetation development

This work characterises monofloral honeys of the Yucatán Peninsula based on their pollen content. The sampling was carried out from January to July 2000. We examined 78 different honey samples from various parts of the Yucatán Peninsula including the states of Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo. Pollen separated from honey was acetolysed, identified and counted. Through pollen analysis, 250 pollen taxa were identified, 180 of which had not been reported previously in Mexican honeys. Thirteen different types of monofloral honeys were found (with a percentage of ≥ 45%) within the honey produced in the Yucatán, Peninsula. These were: Viguiera dentata, Bursera simaruba, Piscidia piscipula, Eugenia sp. 2, Pimenta dioica, Melothria pendula, Gymnanthes lucida, Phoradendron quadrangulare, Gymnopodium floribundum, Rubiaceae 1, Thouinia paucidentata, Thouinia sp. 1, and Pouteria mammosa. This is the first study of monofloral honeys in Mexico and Central America. The characterisation of the honey may give an added market value as it permits us to separate the honeys of monofloral or multifloral origin. The results of this study indicate that it is possible to produce several monofloral honeys in a region with great plant diversity as the Yucatán Peninsula. We recommend installing apiaries in disturbed vegetation zones of the Yucatán Peninsula where an advanced succession of a tree layer exists. This supplies the nectar and pollen during the critical period in March and April which is the driest season.     

Una nueva especie de <Emphasis Type="Italic">Miconia</Emphasis> (Melastomataceae) de la Sierra Madre del Sur de Guerrero y Oaxaca,México

Miconia rzedowskii, which is characterized by its sharply tetragonal distal branches and its mainly sessile trichotomous inflorescences with many flowers, is described from the Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero and Oaxaca, Mexico. The new species is illustrated and compared with M. glaberrima, another Mexican species of section Cremanium.     

Palynological characteristics of different unifloral honeys from Greece

Three hundred and twenty-nine Greek honey samples of different botanical and geographical origin were collected and examined by organoleptic evaluation, melissopalynological analysis, measurement of electrical conductivity and colour. The results showed that 208 samples were unifloral with 178 of them representing the main types of unifloral honey produced in Greece; that is fir, pine, chestnut, cotton, orange and thyme honey. All honeys had the sensory characteristics typical of their origin and complied with the electrical conductivity standards set by Council Directive 2001/110/EC.

Fir and pine honeydew honey had a low honeydew element/pollen (HDE/P) ratio and belonged to Maurizio's Classes II or III. The pollen types identified in these honeys ranged from 11 to 45%. Chestnut nectar honey contained >90% chestnut pollen, had a total number of plant elements of >245,000/10?g, and low pollen diversity. Cotton honey contained 1.2 to 16.5% cotton pollen, belonged to Maurizio's Class II, and had 22 pollen types, with Castanea sativa L. present in all samples. Orange honey contained 2.9 to 26.5% Citrus spp. pollen, belonged to Maurizio's Class II, and was characterized by the presence of Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Olea europea L., Quercus coccifera L. and Rosaceae. In thyme honeys Thymus capitatus Hoffm. &; Link. pollen was secondary or predominant ranging from 18.3 to 69.3%. These honeys belonged to Maurizio's Classes I or II and contained greater than 30 pollen types. Other Lamiaceae, Hypericum spp., Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae, and Cistus spp. pollen types appeared in the greatest number of thyme samples.     

Palynological characterization of honeys from the Andean Patagonia (Chubut,Argentina)

The pollen content of 58 honey samples of Apis mellifera L. from the Andean region of Chubut (Argentinian Patagonia) was analyzed. The samples were provided by beekeepers between 1999 and 2004. Eighty‐eight pollen types were identified, 30 of them are not reported in Argentinian honeys. Identified types belong to 47 families, of which the most diverse were Asteraceae (15 pollen types), Fabaceae (13 pollen types), and Rosaceae (four pollen types). From the samples analyzed, 47% were monofloral and corresponded to the following taxa: Trifolium spp. (16%), Rosaceae (10%), Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz (7%), Discaria‐Colletia (5%), Escallonia spp. (3%), Schinus patagonica (Phil.) I. M. Johnst. (2%), Phacelia secunda J. F. Gmel. (2%), Myrtaceae (2%). The results of this study show a high level of utilization of native flora by Apis mellifera. Four new types of monofloral honey were recognized: Aristotelia chilensis, Discaria‐Colletia, Phacelia secunda, and Schinus patagonica. The high representation of native flora distinguishes these honeys geographically.     

Palynological evaluation of selected honeys from Romania

Fifty-four honey samples collected over two consecutive harvest seasons (2009–2010) from different floristic areas of Romania were analysed. A melissopalynological analysis including qualitative and quantitative analyses was carried out in order to identify the principal pollen types in Romanian honeys and therefore, the important plants exploited by Apis mellifera in this country. Seventy-seven pollen types from 35 botanical families were identified. The main pollen forms were: Brassica napus-type, Tilia, Helianthus annuus, Robinia pseudoacacia, Prunus, Castanea sativa, Fragaria-type and Plantago-type. Honey samples were classified as: acacia honey (Robinia pseudoacacia), lime honey (Tilia), rape honey (Brassica napus-type), sunflower honey (Helianthus annuus), cherry honey (Prunus). Three of them were honeydew honeys whereas the others were all polyfloral. The results from this study can be used as a palynological baseline data of Romanian artisanal honeys.     

Effect of bark extract of different plant species on the hatching of Meloidogyne incognita

An in vitro experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of bark extract of different plant species viz., Azadirachta indica, Acacia nilotica, Emblica officinalis, Eucalyptus citriodora, Mangifera indica and Terminalia arjuna at varying concentration levels S, S/2, S/10 and S/100 on the hatching of Meloidogyne incognita. One hundred per cent inhibition was observed with Azadirachta indica under both un-decomposed and decomposed conditions. The effect was decreased with Acacia nilotica, Emblica officinalis, Eucalyptus citriodora, Mangifera indica and Terminalia arjuna, respectively. Effect of decomposed bark extract on hatching was more pronounced as compared to un-decomposed bark extract.     

Pollen analysis of honeys from the Mamora forest region (NW Morocco)

The present work refers to the pollen analysis of 35 Moroccan honey samples from the Mamora forest region. The samples were directly provided by the beekeepers, all professionals. The quantitative analysis showed that nectar is the main honey source in the samples studied, and that most honeys have a medium-low presence of botanical elements (BEN). The qualitative analysis of the samples showed the presence of 54 taxa belonging to 29 families, and 31 of the samples were unifloral: 24 of eucalyptus, 3 of orange, 2 of Loeflingia, 1 of mint and 1 of Ridolfia segetum. The eucalyptus honeys of the studied region are characterized by their high content in pollen grains (NGP; x¯=180000) and their low honeydew indicator elements content (HDE; x¯=4000); Plantago f. (present in 70% of the samples), Quercus f. and Brassicaceae (50%) and Ceratonia siliqua (30%) could be mentioned among the characteristic accompanying species of this honey type.     

Pollen Diversity and Volatile Variability of Honey from Corsican Anthyllis hermanniae L. Habitat

Melissopalynological, physicochemical, and volatile analyses of 29 samples of Corsican ‘summer maquis’ honey were performed. The pollen spectrum was characterized by a wide diversity of nectariferous and/or polleniferous taxa. The most important were Anthyllis hermanniae and Rubus sp., associated with some endemic taxa. Castanea sativa was also determined in these honeys with a great variation. The volatile fraction was characterized by 37 compounds and dominated by phenolic aldehydes and linear acids. The major compounds were phenylacetaldehyde, benzaldehyde, and nonanoic acid. Statistical analysis of pollen and volatile data showed that 18 samples were characterized by a high abundance of phenylacetaldehyde, which might relate to the high amount of A. hermanniae and Rubus sp. Eleven other samples displayed a higher proportion of phenolic ketones and linear acids, which characterized the nectar contribution of C. sativa and Thymus herba‐barona, respectively.     

Plant Resources Foraged by Polybia Scutellaris (Hym. Vespidae) in the Argentine Pampas

The plants foraged by Polybia scutellaris were studied by analysing the pollen of honey collected from six nests. 34 morphological types were identified. These honeys showed a predominance of Poaceae and Cyperaceae pollen. The main access to anemophilous pollen is through the honeydew produced by Claviceps in Paspalum dilatatum. The principal sources of nectar were the native “Astereae” (Aster squamatus, Baccharis sp. and Solidago chilensis) and Eucalyptus sp. When collecting honeydew and nectar, wasps foraged plants close to their nest. Most of the plants visited belonged to a dense population. The successive flowering reflected in these honeys, shows that wasps also consume honey in summer and that it is not all stored for the winter season.     

Characterisation of some monofloral Algerian honeys by pollen analysis

In order to contribute to the knowledge of monofloral honeys from northern Africa, a number of 116 honey samples were collected in three areas in the northern region of Algeria and analysed for their melissopalynological characteristics. Fifty-one of them proved to be monofloral and were mainly from four botanical sources: Eucalyptus spp., Hedysarum coronarium, Pimpinella anisum and Citrus spp. The honeys could be differentiated from honeys from neighbouring countries by the presence of specific associated pollen. Besides the main pollen species, the characteristic 12 pollen types in the four monofloral Algerian honeys in this study were: Acacia sp., Brassicaceae, Carduus sp., Centaurea sp., Convolvulus arvensis, Eucalyptus spp., Olea europaea, Papaver rhoeas, Pimpinella anisum, Trifolium spp., Rubus sp. and Vicia sp. Regional differences in the pollen composition were also observed. Characteristic associated pollen grains in the north-western region were Acacia sp., Brassicaceae, Carduus sp. and Centaurea sp., in the central north region Coriandrum sativum, Echium sp. and Trifolium spp. and in the north-eastern region Apiaceae.     

Palynological and geographical characterization of avocado honeys in Spain

The present work refers to the pollen analysis of 12 avocado honey samples from Spain. The samples were directly provided by the beekeepers, all professionals. The quantitative analysis showed that nectar is the main honey source in the samples studied, and that most honeys have a medium presence of botanical elements (BE); one sample belong to Class I of Maurizio, seven to Class II and four belong to Class III. The qualitative analysis of the samples showed the presence of 56 taxa belonging to 36 families. The Spanish avocado honeys are characterised by their medium content in pollen grains (NPG; x¯=117000) and their low honeydew indicator elements content (HDE; x¯=6340). Echium plantagineum gr. and Genista f. (present in 90% of the samples), and Eucalyptus f., Olea europaea L., Mentha aquatica gr. and Reseda luteola gr. (present in 80% of the samples), could be mentioned among the characteristic accompanying species of this honey type. The avocado honeys from the Iberian Peninsula and from the Canary Islands can be differentiated by the presence of Asphalthium bituminosum Medic., Cardiospermum grandiflorum Sw., Phoenix canariensis Hort. ex Chabaud and Tropaeolum majus L. in the latter.     

Xiphidorus amazonensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Longidoridae) from the Brazilian Amazon Basin

Xiphidorus amazonensis n. sp. was found in the rhizospheres of Jatropha curcas, Musa sp., Anona muricata, Cassia tora, Panicum laxum, Paspalum fasciculatum, Aeschynomene sensitiva, Saccharum officinarum, Manihot esculenta, Abelmoschus esculentus, Tamarindus indica, Mangifera indica, Vigna unguiculata, Zea mays, Commelina sp., Cyperus rotundus, Fimbristylis miliacea, Citrus sinensis, and Eichhornia crassipes on the Amazon River island of Xiborena, approximately 40 km southeast of Manaus, capital of the State of Amazonas. The type habitat is flooded annually for about 6 months by the Amazon River. Xiphidorus amazonensis n. sp. differs from the closely related species Xiphidorus yepesara Monteiro, 1976 by the larger size, by a, b, and c values, and by the rounded tail terminus. It also resembles Xiphidorus tucumanensis Chaves and Coomans, 1984, but can be distinguished by its larger size, larger a, b, and c values, more conical female tail, bilobed amphidial pouch, and the presence of a spermatheca full of sperm.     

Antibacterial activity of different honeys against pathogenic bacteria

To study the antimicrobial activity of honey, 60 samples of various botanical origin were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities against 16 clinical pathogens and their respective reference strains. The microbiological quality of honeys and the antibiotic susceptibility of the various isolates were also examined. The bioassay applied for determining the antimicrobial effect employs the well-agar diffusion method and the estimation of minimum active dilution which produces a 1 mm diameter inhibition zone. All honey samples, despite their origin (coniferous, citrus, thyme or polyfloral), showed antibacterial activity against the pathogenic and their respective reference strains at variable levels. Coniferous and thyme honeys showed the highest activity with an average minimum dilution of 17.4 and 19.2% (w/v) followed by citrus and polyfloral honeys with 20.8 and 23.8% respectively. Clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica subsp. Enterica, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis were proven to be up to 60% more resistant than their equal reference strains thus emphasizing the variability in the antibacterial effect of honey and the need for further research.     

AN UNUSUAL FOSSIL FRUCTIFICATION FROM THE JURASSIC OF OAXACA,MEXICO

A fructification with unusual branching arrangement, Perezlaria oaxacensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Middle Jurassic Zorrillo Formation of Oaxaca, Mexico. The sporangial heads are similar to the pollen-bearing organs of several Mesozoic pteridosperms. The association of P. oaxacensis, as well as some isolated organs resembling the synangia of Caytonanthus, with glossopteroid foliage is noted.     

A study of variation in the pollen spectra of honeys sampled from the Baixa Limia‐Serra do Xurés Nature Reserve in north‐west Spain

The pollen content of eleven honey samples from ten different apiaries in the Baixa Limia – Serra do Xurés Nature Reserve and other honey commercialised by the cooperative as “Mel do Xurés” (north‐west Spain) was subjected to quantitative and qualitative melissopalynological analysis. The quantitative analysis found that ten samples belonged to Maurizio's Class III and one to Class IV. According to the qualitative analysis, four samples were classified as unifloral honey with Erica, four samples as multifloral honey with Erica pollen as the principal component and three samples as multifloral honey with Cytisus‐type pollen and Erica as the principal component pollen. The pollen spectra differ between the diverse honeys analysed, with a common denominator being Erica and Cytisus‐type pollen being abundant in all. For the rest of the samples, the pollen spectra were mainly the same, but with different relative percentages among secondary elements. Thus, either as a secondary or an important element, 91% of the honeys contained Quercus, 82% Castanea sativa Miller, 45% Rubus, 36% Cistus and 27% Lithodora prostrate (Loisel) Griseb,. In particular, we record for the first time the presence of Ribes and Ilex aquifolium L. pollen in Spanish honeys as an important minor or minor pollen component.     

A new species of Gnathostoma (Nematoda: Gnathostomatidae) in Procyon lotor hernandezii from Mexico

Gnathostoma lamothei n. sp., inhabiting the stomach of Procyon lotor hernandezii Wagler, 1831, in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz State, and Rio Sapo, Oaxaca, Mexico, is described. This new species differs from all other congeners by having the posterior half of the body surface covered by rows of tiny round bosses instead of spines, or lacking ornamentations. Sequences of the ITS2 of the ribosomal DNA of G. lamothei n. sp. are compared with sequences of other species of the genus recorded in Mexico; they show a wide divergence (<50%) with Gnathostoma binucleatum Almeyda-Artigas, 1991, and Gnathostoma turgidum Stossich, 1902, and high similarity with Gnathostoma sp. I sequence (99.2%). On the basis of morphometric traits and sequences, previous records of Gnathostoma sp. I (=Gnathostoma procyonis of Almeyda-Artigas et al., 1994, not Chandler, 1942, and Gnathostoma neoprocyonis nomen nudem) in Mexico are referred to as the new species.     

Pollen and sensorial characterization of different honeys from El Hierro (Canary Islands)

The pollen content of 31 honey samples from 19 different apiaries of El Hierro (Canary Islands) were subject to qualitative and quantitative melissopalynological analysis. The quantitative analysis demonstrated that 13% of the honey belonged to Maurizio Class I (<2?000?grains), 68% to Class II (2?000–10?000?grains) and 19% to Class III (10?000–50?000?grains). The pollen density ranges from 1?042?grains/g of honey to 24?478?grains/g with an average of 7?471?grains/g. According to the qualitative analysis, six honeys were typified as unifloral and 25 as multifloral. The unifloral honey samples were broken down as follows: two of heather (Erica arborea L.), two of Chamaecytisus proliferus (L. f.) Link‐type (“tagasaste”), one of Fabaceae (Genisteae sp.) and one of Lamiaceae Origanum vulgare L. ssp. virens (Hoffmanns. &; Link) Ietsw.‐type (thyme: Micromeria hyssopifolia Webb &; Berthel.). Honeydew elements were practically absent. Sixty‐nine pollen types were identified belonging to 42 families. The number of pollen types range between 18 and 39 (mean of 27.42). Foeniculum vulgare Mill.‐type pollen is present in all the samples. Galactites tomentosa Moench‐type, Echium plantagineum L., Echium L. sp., Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C. H. Stirt., Chamaecytisus proliferus ‐type and Origanum vulgare ssp. virens ‐type pollen were found in 96.8% of the samples. The sensorial analysis indicated that honey types are generally of good quality, because 62% were evaluated as very high (16%), high (23%), and good (23%).     

Ethanolic extract of mango (Mangifera indica L.) malformed inflorescence as effective antifungal agent

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) suffers from floral and vegetative malformation and crop production is seriously affected. The anti-fungal activity of ethanolic extract of malformed mango inflorescence was observed at different concentrations (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 μl/ml) against 10 fungi, viz., Ustilago cynodontis, Cercospora cajani, Sphaerotheca sp., Cercospora sp., Alternaria solani, Bipolaris sp., Helminthosporium sp., Curvularia sp., Fusarium udum and Alternaria cajani. Spore germination of most of the fungi was inhibited at 5000 μg/ml. Some of them were also susceptible at 3000 or 4000 μg/ml concentration. Analysis of phenolic acids by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed 18 peaks in the extract, but only four could be identified, viz., capachin, gallic, benzoic and cinnamic acids. Because of the high efficacy of ethanolic extract of malformed mango inflorescence, its use under field conditions to control some plant diseases has been suggested.     

Floral resources collected by four native bees species in southern Mexico

Abstract

Melissopalynological analysis of 14 honey samples of Tetragonisca angustula (two), Scaptotrigona mexicana (six), Melipona beecheii (three) and Melipona solani (three) from Soconusco region in Chiapas, Mexico was performed. A total of 79 taxa were identified, being Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Melostomataceae and Rubiaceae the predominant pollen types. Melissopalynological analysis reported a monofloral composition for Melipona beecheii honeys, where the most predominant pollen type was Fabaceae (54.2%). T. angustula, Scaptotrigona mexicana and Melipona solani honey samples were multifloral and predominant pollen types were Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Melastomataceae and Solanaceae. The most frequent polliniferous pollen type were Asteraceae, Bernardia interrupta, Euphorbia heterophyla and Miconia. Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H′) for Melipona beecheii 2016 (2.21) and Melipona solani 2017 (1.64) were lower meanwhile honeys of Melipona beecheii 2017, S. mexicana 2017, Melipona solani 2016 and T. angustula 2017 were considered as fairly diverse, because they visited a wider range of plant species, by preferring shrub and wild strata such as: Asteraceae, Euphorbia, Euphorbiaceae, Miconia and Mimosa. Our results showed that the foraging behaviour of these bee species is polylectic, as no taxa was found to be more than 70% of the counted grains. Since the study of the collection of meliponine flower resources in the southern region of Mexico have not been studied yet, it is not possible to analyse the foraging behaviour, the use of resources and the management of these species in this region.     

Pollen analysis of Apis dorsata Fabricius honeys in Bankura and Paschim Medinipur districts,West Bengal

One-hundred-and-five species corresponding to 38 families were identified through pollen analyses of 53 Apis dorsata honeys collected from Bankura and Paschim Medinipur districts, West Bengal. The families most frequently encountered were Fabaceae, Arecaceae, Asteraceae and Myrtaceae. Fabaceae had the greatest representation in number of pollen types (18 types), followed by Asteraceae (nine types), Cucurbitaceae (seven types), Lamiaceae and Myrtaceae (each with six types) and Malvaceae and Rutaceae (each with five types). Most of the honey samples correspond to class I. The presence of dominant pollen was detected in 18 samples. The predominant pollen types were Borassus flabellifer, Sesamum indicum (during summer), Eucalyptus globulus (during late autumn), Brassica nigra, Eucalyptus globulus (during winter) and Borassus flabellifer and Lannea coromandelica (during spring). The unifloral honeys obtained mostly during late autumn and winter were dominated by Eucalyptus globulus type. In monsoon and autumn unifloral honeys containing predominant pollen types (> 45%) were not found. However, according to frequency distribution the pollen types represented as very frequent were Peltophorum pterocarpum, Tridax procumbens (in monsoon) and Acacia auriculiformis, Cocos nucifera, Eucalyptus globulus, Tridax procumbens and Ziziphus mauritiana (in autumn). The seasonal diversity of pollen types obtained was at a maximum during spring (36 types) and minimum during late autumn (14 types). Seasonal variation in the number of pollen types per sample range from 5.86 ± 1.87 (during late autumn) to 6.86 ± 1.95 (during autumn) and exhibit low correlation (r = 0.31) with floral diversity. The diversity of pollen types per unifloral honey sample remains lower than multifloral honeys.