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Phacelia tanacetifolia is a widely used food plant in the beekeeping and conservation of pollinators. The present work is
the first report for its value as bees and insectary plants in Saudi Arabia. Insect species visiting on flowers of P. tanacetifolia
were identified and clustered as pollinators, pests and natural enemies. Out of 54 recorded insect species, 26 species
were from Hymenoptera followed by Diptera (eight species), Lepidoptera (eight species), Coleoptera (six species),
Hemiptera (five species) and Neuroptera (one species). Hymenopterous insect (bees, wasps, and ants) were the abundant
flower visitors and out of them, bees were at the top with the highest recorded species (18). Apis mellifera and
Apis florea were the most common honey bee species visiting on P. tanacetifolia, and exhibited daytimes and flowering
season-dependent foraging activity (visits/m2). Apis species showed preferential high foraging visits for nectar than pollen
collection. The major flower visitor was A. florea and the time spent by A. florea in the flower was significantly higher
than A. mellifera. Insect-pollinated flowers of P. tanacetifolia presented significantly high-seed set percentage (62%) than
non-insect-pollinated flowers (14%). Nectar secretion of P. tanacetifolia fluctuated significantly during daytimes and
months with the highest amount during noon-afternoon and March. Blooming period (six weeks: fore-March to mid-
April), seed harvesting (late-April), flower density (9069 flowers/m2/day), nectar productivity (4 g/m2/day) and honey
potentiality (1791 kg/ha/season) of P. tanacetifolia was also monitored. P. tanacetifolia can be an ideal potential plant to
support honey bees and other insect pollinators in the hot-dry ecosystem of central Saudi Arabia.

Hemolymph osmolarity has great effect on honey bee health, especially in arid and semi-arid zones. It regulates water and nutrients in stressed tissues. Osmotic concentration in three races (Apis mellifera ligustica, A. m. carnica and A. m. jemenitica) of Apis mellifera was tested in central Saudi Arabia during spring and summer seasons in 2015. Newly emerged bee workers were first marked and later their hemolymph was extracted after intervals of 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 days. A significant positive correlation between age and osmolarity was found in all three races during spring and summer seasons. The lowest combined osmotic concentration for all three races was found after 1 day interval, while the highest osmotic concentration was recorded after 25 days. Among all races, A. m. ligustica showed significantly high osmotic concentration after 25 days in spring and summer seasons as compared to the other two races. Only A. m. jemenitica showed similar osmotic concentration after 10 and 15 days in both spring and summer seasons compared to other two races. Mean osmotic concentration of all three races was significantly different after 20 and 25 days in spring and summer seasons. Overall mean recorded during summer was significantly higher than the mean of spring season. Combined osmotic concentration in young drones of all races was significantly lower than that of old drones during spring and summer seasons.

Nectar is used as raw material for the production of honey and as significant reward in the relationship between bees and plants during pollination. Therefore, it is important to investigate its abundance, dynamics and associated governing factors. Weather conditions are known to influence nectar production, and predicted climate changes may be responsible for future declining in total yield from beekeeping activities. We investigated nectar production as total soluble solids (TSS) of well-known species for honey production, in a hot-arid environment of Saudi Arabia. Data on nectar samples from bagged flowers of different stages during two blooming seasons, 2013 and 2015 were collected on weekly bases, and the data were correlated with weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and wind). A significant difference in TSS amount has been obtained, with 1-day old flowers displaying the higher content. TSS production was varied along the different day intervals, for both years,...

Nectar is used as raw material for the production of honey and as significant reward in the relationship between bees and plants during pollination. Therefore, it is important to investigate its abundance, dynamics and associated governing factors. Weather conditions are known to influence nectar production, and predicted climate changes may be responsible for future declining in total yield from beekeeping activities. We investigated nectar production as total soluble solids (TSS) of well-known species for honey production, Ziziphus nummularia in a hot-arid environment of Saudi Arabia. Data on nectar samples from bagged flowers of different stages during two blooming seasons, 2013 and 2015 were collected on weekly bases, and the data were correlated with weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and wind). A significant difference in TSS amount has been obtained, with 1-day old flowers displaying the higher content. TSS production was varied along the different day interv...