Espécies apícolas do município de Marcelino Vieira, RN: conhecimento científico e nativo

Abstract

The preservation of species in the region of the Caatinga biome is one of the biggest environmental challenges for those who produce. Thus it is important to develop cientific materials that promote and disseminate informations about the relevance of preserving the natural resources. As a productive sector, the beekeeping is characterized as an important source of income for several families. Marcelino Vieira, a municipality located in the west region of Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil, presents a streamlined and consolidated honey production. The little amount of informations about the species that make up the bee-associated flora causes that honey productions does not reach its full capacity, generating losses in certain periods of the year and even abandonment of hives. The objective of this work was to present a relation of plants obtained from the floristic inventory of beekeeping interest, held in the municipality of Marcelino Vieira – Rio Grande do Norte state, by Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical through the Geospace company. The data were obtained through Rapid Diagnosis Rural Appraisal and a survey of the region’s bee-associated flora. Species that were in flowering were collected and identified. Region’s beekeepers indicated 24 species of which 15 corresponded to those observed in the fiel during the execution of the project. The floristic list obtained by the survey resulted in 95 species with flowering concentrated in the months of April to May, of which 18 are exotic and of these, six are invasive. Among the indicated species, five are reported as suitable for application in urban afforestation projects. The results highlight the importance of paying attention to the practical knowledge of those who produce to guide the search for information; highlighting the diversity of species in the Caatinga biome, which compose the bee-associated flora and their aptitude for varied uses, and how the interaction of different professionals actuations tends to favor and stimulate the acquisition of knowledge.