Important Bee Plants to the Africanized Honey Bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a Fragment of Savannah in Itirapina, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

3 The present work had as objectives to know the bee flora composition in an savannah fragment of the Estacao Experimental de Itirapina, unit of Divisao de Florestas e Estacoes Experimentais do Instituto Florestal, in Itirapina county, Sao Paulo State, Brazil (22 degrees 14'S and 47 degrees 49'W). The pollen spectrum of the produced honey and the pollen collected by the Africanized honey bee Apis mellifera L. were determined in the area. The information contributes to understand the beekeeping exploration potential in remaining areas of savannah, as an alternative for the sustainable development. The blooming plants were collected biweekly between December 2004 and November 2005, along a trail with 3 km of extension. Pollen loads samples were collected biweekly from February to November 2005, and honey samples were collected monthly, from February to October of the same year, in five beehives of A. mellifera, installed at the same area. The local flora was represented by 82 species, belonging to 59 genera and 30 families, being 3.7% represented in hony samples and 6.1% in pollen loads. Asteraceae, Bignoniaceae, Malpighiaceae and Myrtaceae were the most representative families.