Pollination Contribution Differs among Insects Visiting <em>Cardiocrinum cordatum</em> Flowers

(1) Background: <i>Cardiocrinum cordatum</i> (Thunb.) Makino (Liliaceae) is a forest perennial herb distributed in East Asia. Although flower visitors for this plant species have been well reported, their contribution to pollination remains unknown. (2) Methods: We evaluated pollination...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Riko Komamura, Kohei Koyama, Takeo Yamauchi, Yasuo Konno, Lingshuang Gu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
Series:Forests
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/4/452
Description
Summary:(1) Background: <i>Cardiocrinum cordatum</i> (Thunb.) Makino (Liliaceae) is a forest perennial herb distributed in East Asia. Although flower visitors for this plant species have been well reported, their contribution to pollination remains unknown. (2) Methods: We evaluated pollination contribution for visitors of <i>C. cordatum</i> flowers in a natural cool temperate forest. We investigated visiting frequency, the number of pollen grains per body surface, fruit set, and the mean number of seeds per fruit produced after a single visit of each visiting species. Combining the results of these experiments, we determined the most important pollinators of this species. (3) Results: For the population investigated in the study, the three most essential pollinators were the bumblebee (<i>Bombus diversus tersatus</i>) (Apidae), sweat bee (Halictidae sp.), and marmalade hoverfly (<i>Episyrphus balteatus</i>) (Syrphidae). Additionally, we found that the contribution of a flower-visiting ant species (<i>Myrmica ruginodis</i> Nylander (s.l.)) (Formicidae) is small. (4) Conclusions: Pollinator contributions differed among flower visitors. Our results underscore the insufficiency of current information about flower-visiting species to evaluate pollination contribution.
ISSN:1999-4907