Habitat-Specific Foraging Patterns of Wild Bees on Flowering Plants in an Arid Landscape of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Background: Wild bee foraging behaviour in the arid landscapes of Jodhpur is shaped by habitat heterogeneity, floral resource availability and extreme desert climatic conditions, influencing pollination dynamics across natural and managed ecosystems. Aims: This study quantified habitat-specific foraging activity of wild bees across urban, peri-urban, scrubland and agricultural habitats of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, to evaluate variation in visitation frequency, visit duration and foraging consistency. Study Design: Observational field study with standardized focal plant method across multiple habitat types. Place and Duration of Study: In and around Jodhpur city, Rajasthan, India. January to March, 2026. Methodology: Thirteen flowering host plant species were monitored across four habitat types. Each plant-bee combination was observed during five sessions during morning (08:00-10.00 h) and evening (16.00-18.00). Visit frequency (visits/ 5 min) and mean visit duration (s) were. recorded and CV was calculated as (SD/mean)  100 to assess foraging consistency. Bee species were identified using standard morphological keys and literature. Result: Seven bee species from four genera (Apis, Ceratina, Lasioglossum and Nomia) were recorded on 13 host plants across nine families. Visitation rates ranged from 1 to 70 visits/5 min and visit duration from 2.8 ± 1.48 s to 77.0 ± 7.74 s. Agricultural habitats showed the highest bee richness and visitation rates, while scrubland had the lowest. CV ranged from 7.28% to 55.75% indicating variable foraging consistency among plant-bee interactions. Conclusion: Wild bees play a critical ecological role in arid agroecosystems of Jodhpur, with agricultural habitats supporting the greatest foraging diversity and intensity. Habitat-sensitive pollinator conservation strategies, particularly preserving peri-urban and scrubland patches, are essential for sustaining diverse wild bee communities in arid India.