Floral resource availability in ironstone outcrops: abundance of species, frequency of visits and behavior of bees
Keywords:
Canga, Ironstone outcrops, Flower availability, Insect behavior, Serra do Rola Moça, Stachytarpheta glabra., Xylocopa spAbstract
From January to March 2003, we quantified a total of 3,942 flowers of Stachytarpheta glabra Cham. (Verbenaceae) in an ironstone outcrop, in southeastern Brazil. Our aim was to evaluate the following projections: (1) the greater the number of flowers available, the higher the frequency of bee visits to
flowers of S. glabra, (2) the greater the number of flowers available, the greater will be the abundance of visiting bees and (3) if temperature, humidity and light
influence the frequency of bee visits, this frequency will drop with lower temperatures, humidity and light. Nine bee species visited 313 flowers, in 91 separate visits. The total number of flowers had a positive and significant
correlation with the number of bee visits, but not with the variety of bee species. Climatic variables did not exert any apparent effect on the rate of bee visits, nor
the bees’ behavior. Bees performed four types of approach to flowers: the exterior of the corolla with the head directed upwards (Type 1) or head downwards (Type 2), the apex of corolla (Type 3) and the interior of corolla (Type 4). Bees spent more time in Type 3 landings and this was the most common behavior observed (44%). This is the first time that the amount of time spent on the behavior demonstrated by different bees has been quantified for bees visiting flowers in
ironstone outcrops.
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References
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