Pliszko A., Kostrakiewicz-Gierałt K.

Flower-visiting insects on Solidago ×niederederi (Asteraceae): an observation from a domestic garden

Abstract In this study, we focused on flower-visiting insects on Solidago ×niederederi, a natural hybrid between the North American S. canadensis and the European S. virgaurea. Based on four-day observation in a domestic garden, we evidenced a high number of Diptera visits on hybrid flowers, per each hour of the recording, and a positive correlation between the number of insect visits and the length, the width and the number of secondary branches of synflorescence and the number of capitula. Moreover, the number of insect visits positively correlated with the air temperature and negatively correlated with the wind speed. The increasing number of insect visits with the increasing size of synflorescences suggests that capitula of the hybrid arranged in bigger panicles might be more visible and smell stronger. However, a high number of insect visits on the flowers within the same synflorescence may promote the occurrence of geitonogamy. The involvement of various insects in pollination of S. ×niederederi needs to be studied in the future.

Doi https://doi.org/10.2478/botlit-2018-0016

Keywords alien species, Diptera, flower visitor recording, hybrid plant, Solidago

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