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Visiting insect behaviour and pollen transport for a generalist oak-savannah wildflower, Camassia quamash (Asparagaceae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2018

N.F. Rammell ,
S.D. Gillespie Open the ORCID record for S.D. Gillespie [Opens in a new window]  and
E. Elle
N.F. Rammell
Affiliation:
Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
S.D. Gillespie
Affiliation:
Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
E. Elle*
Affiliation:
Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: eelle@sfu.ca).
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Abstract

Many studies have investigated plant-pollinator interactions using visit records of insects contacting floral reproductive organs. However, these studies may not reflect the effectiveness of visits, since factors such as visitor behaviour and the composition of pollen on their bodies may influence conspecific pollen transfer required for fertilisation in plants. Here we study how pollen transport to a generalist wildflower, Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene (Asparagaceae), is influenced by the behaviour and body pollen of five functional visitor groups (Andrena Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae)/Halictidae (Hymenoptera), Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Bombus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Osmia Panzer (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), and Syrphidae (Diptera). We found that functional visitor groups differed in their behaviour (Bombus and Osmia were legitimate visitors, contacting both anthers and stigmas) and in the amount of conspecific pollen on their bodies (A. mellifera had the highest levels and Andrena/Halictidae the lowest). Conspecific pollen receipt by C. quamash stigmas was high (>80%), and best explained by visitor behaviour rather than the proportion of visitors with high amounts of conspecific body pollen. Our findings highlight the utility of pollen analyses for understanding pollinator effectiveness.

Type
Behaviour & Ecology
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 151 , Issue 1 , February 2019 , pp. 58 - 68
Copyright
© 2018 Entomological Society of Canada 

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Christopher Cutler

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