Pollinators of Hoya pottsii: Are the strongest the most effective?

摘要

Hoya floral characters are highly elaborate and associated with a complex and specialised pollination mechanism. The pollination of two Hoya species has been studied previously, but little is known about the specific nature and interactions between flower morphology, pollinators, and their environment. Here we investigate the pollination of Hoya pottsii, where pollinaria are transferred onto several insects' legs and arolia including moths in the Erebidae family, ants, and a praying mantis. Hypopyra vespertilio (Erebidae, Erebinae) was the most effective at both carrying and depositing the pollinaria, Colobopsis leonardii (Formicidae) was shown to successfully insert only one pollinium whereas Hymenopus coronatus (Hymenopodidae) could only attach the pollinaria between its two euplantulae.