Flower-visiting insects of genus Melastoma (Myrtales: Melastomataceae) at the Fushan Botanical Garden, Taiwan.

ABSTRACT:

Background

We investigated the diversity and behaviour of insects that visit flowers of four native Melastoma (Family Melastomataceae) species of Taiwan and a horticultural hybrid Melastoma species at the Fushan Botanical Garden, Taiwan biweekly from May to August 2020. Visits of flower-visiting insects were classified into seven behavioural categories, based on the insects' behaviour and positions on the flower. The data are further assigned into four insect-flower interactions, namely pollination, herbivory, commensalism and neutralism. Our goal is to provide baseline data of insect-plant interactions of Melastoma, which is a common, but understudied plant genus in the country.

New information

A total of 1,289 visits to flowers were recorded by at leas

SUBMITTER: Huang JCC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7854558 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature