Abstract:
Honey is increasingly being used as a food supplement and to treat various diseases and disorders in Ghana. Information
on floral nectar preferences of foraging honeybees is, therefore, imperative to increase production to keep pace with
demand. However, in Ghana, these floral nectar preferences are yet to be investigated and identified. This study was
conducted to determine bee forage sources in the three main agro-ecological honey-producing zones of Ghana. Forty-eight
unblended honey samples sourced from beekeepers were analysed. Pollen spectra of the honey samples revealed 27
different pollen types of which eight were identified to family level, while 15 and four were at the level of genus and
species, respectively. The results also showed that, in general, 48% of the analysed samples were unifloral honeys with the
most important pollen types coming from Sapotaceae/Meliaceae, Anacardiaceae and Burkea africana. Combretaceae,
Sapotaceae/Meliaceae and Anacardiaceae, as well as Lannea-type and Burkea africana were found to be the most frequent
(with occurrence greater than 50%) sources of nectar utilised by bees to produce honey. The predominant pollen sources
of the honeys in the three main apicultural zones of the country were Sapotaceae/Meliaceae and Anacardiaceae (Forest
zone), Sapotaceae/Meliaceae and Lannea-type (Savannah–Forest transition zone) and Sapotaceae/Meliaceae, Anacardiaceae
and Gynandropsis gynandra (Savannah zones). Identification of the major bee floral sources can be used as a guide by
beekeepers in the location of their apiaries as well as reforesting disturbed sites with these plants to act as sources of bee
forage.
