A general survey study of insect pollinators visiting Nigella sativa L.
blossoms in Assiut region, showed that the collected insects belong to eight
orders. Hymenopterous insects formed 56.38 %, Apis mellifera L. was the
most common Hymenopterous, as it constituted 26.90 %. Insects of orders
Coleptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera came in the second class, forming 16.21,
16.13 and 15.98 % of the total insect count, respectively. While orders
Neuroptera, Odonata, Orthoptera and Hemiptera were poorly represented.
Regarding seasonal activity of honeybee foragers on Nigella sativa L.
fields, it was found that the ratio of pollen and nectar foragers was 60.60,
39.34 %, respectively. Daily peak activity of pollen and nectar foragers was
detected at 3 p.m.
The mean weight of 1000 seeds resulted from honeybee pollinated and
open pollinated plots revealed a significant increase in comparison with
insect-excluded. The mean weight of seeds calculated per feddan was 782.7,
760.8, 650.4 kg for honeybee pollinates plots, open pollinated and insectexcluded,
respectively. Percentage of essential oil was nearly similar in three
treatments.