Effects of small-scale clustering of flowers on pollinator foraging behaviour and flower visitation rate.

ABSTRACT: Plants often grow in clusters of various sizes and have a variable number of flowers per inflorescence. This small-scale spatial clustering affects insect foraging strategies and plant reproductive success. In our study, we aimed to determine how visitation rate and foraging behaviour of pollinators depend on the number of flowers per plant and on the size of clusters of multiple plants using Dracocephalum moldavica (Lamiaceae) as a target species. We measured flower visitation rate by observations of insects visiting single plants and clusters of plants with different numbers of flowers. Detailed data on foraging behaviour within clusters of different sizes were gathered for honeybees, Apis mellifera, the most abundant visitor of Dracocephalum in the experiments. We found that the total n

SUBMITTER: Akter A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5685580 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature