Characterization of Salix nigra floral insect community and activity of three native Andrena bees.

ABSTRACT: Salix nigra (black willow) is a widespread tree that hosts many species of polylectic hymenopterans and oligolectic bees of the genus Andrena. The early flowering of S. nigra makes it an important nutritive resource for arthropods emerging from hibernation. However, since S. nigra is dioecious, not all insect visits will lead to successful pollination. Using both visual observation and pan-trapping, we characterized the community of arthropods that visited S. nigra flowers and assessed differences among male and female trees as well as the chemical and visual drivers that influenced community composition across 3 years. We found that male trees consistently supported higher diversity of insects than female trees and only three insect species, all Andre

SUBMITTER: Simon SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8093708 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature