Cotton, although self-fertile, may benefit from the activities of flower visiting insects, via the movement of pollen within or between flowers. In this study, we document arthropod visitations to cotton flowers in production fields in northern Alabama. Of special interest were honey bees and other pollinators. Six fields were used and observations were made in field interiors and along field edges. From 10-30 honey bee colonies were located along the edge of each field. All open flowers were observed within two 1/4 acre plots per field between the hours of 10:00 am and 1:00 pm; observed arthropods were recorded and counted. Honey bees were the most commonly observed pollinators but seldom entered flowers. Several other solitary bee pollinators commonly visited flowers and collected pollen. Numbers of visits in relation to area of field and type of pollinator are presented.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Apidae Apis mellifera (honey bee)
Keywords: cotton, pollination
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