Identification and determination of plants attractiveness used by honey bee in Koohrang Bakhtiari rangelands

The aim of this study was to determine the attractiveness of plants using by honey bee in the rangeland of Aliabad Mousiri, Koohrang, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. For this purpose, plant species were collected during the growing season at a distance of 1500 meters from the location of bee keeping point in rangeland. The attractiveness of the plants used by bees, considering three criteria; Time, number of bees and distance and relying on indigenous knowledge and experience of beekeepers were determined. According to the results, species with attractiveness for bees include between 60 and 65% of plant composition, which plants with excellent, good, medium and low attractive plants respectively, constitute11.79, 44.94, 4.49 and 38.76, of the share of species in plant composition. The flowering period of most of the plants used by bees in the rangelands of the region is from the beginning of June to the end of August. Also 29 species producing nectar(16.29%), 40 species producing pollen (22.47%) and 110 species producing nectar and pollen(61.79%) were identified. The results can be used to determine the suitability of rangeland habitats in terms of beekeeping in multi-purpose rangeland designs.