Abstract

TREJO-SALAZAR, Roberto Emiliano; SCHEINVAR, Enrique  and  EGUIARTE, Luis E.. Who really pollinates agaves? Diversity of floral visitors in three species of Agave (Agavoideae: Asparagaceae). Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2015, vol.86, n.2, pp.358-369. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmb.2015.04.007.

Activity patterns of inflorescence visitors are described for 3 species of Agave : Agave difformis, A. garciae-mendozae and A. striata from different sites at Barranca de Metztitlán, Hidalgo, Mexico. The potential role of the visitors in the pollination process was defined: pollen or nectar robbers, or as primary or secondary pollinators, secondary if they visit less flowers or do so in an inefficient way. Visitor's activity was recorded for 24 consecutive hours on 5 inflorescences. The visitors were from the following groups: hawkmoths, bats, bees and hummingbirds. The peak of the activity in the 3 Agave species was registered between 21:00 to 03:00 h. In some cases, diurnal visitors (bees and hummingbirds) could also be pollinators. The primary pollinators were the nectar feeding bats Leptonycteris yerbabuenae, L. nivalis , and Choeronycteris mexicana . The most common secondary pollinator was the hawkmoth Erinnyis ello . The main pollen and nectar robber was the European honey bee, Apis mellifera , however, A. mellifera could also be considered as a secondary pollinator for A. striata , because this species has smaller flowers.

Keywords : Pollination; Nectarivorous bats; Hawk moths; Apis mellifera; Glosophaginae; Leptonycteris; Choeronycteris; Metztitlán.

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