An inventory of bee flora in Chitwan, Nepal.

Keywords: Bee flora, nectar flora, pollen flora, cultivated flora, uni-floral honey

The survey and study of bee flora in Chitwan (hill and terai) revealed that there existed more than 225 bee flora (hills 170 and terai 150), of which 179 nectar, 194 pollen and majority both sources but they were in shortage during the rainy and autumn seasons. Maize, Zea mays L.; buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum Moench; mandarin orange, Citrus reticulata Balanco; mustard, Brassica campestris L.; sesame, Sesamum  orientale L.; litchi, Litchi chinensis Sonner; Nizer, Guizotia abyssinica (L.) Cass.; sunflower, Helianthus annuus L. and cucurbits (bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl; sponge gourd, Luffa cylindrica  (L.) Roem.; bitter gourd, Momordica charantia L.) are the cultivated bee crops and mustard, B. campestris;  gumpate, Leucas lanata Benth.; rudilo, Pogostemon glaber Benth.; litchi, L. chinensis; Chiuri, Bassia butyracea Roxb. and buckwheat, F. esculentum are high potentiality for uni-floral honey production in Chitwan.