Activity and foraging behaviour of the hoverflyEristalinus aeneus(Scopoli, 1763) in protected cultivation of mango (Mangifera indicaL.)

Abstract

The hoverfly Eristalinus aeneus is an important pollinator of crops and wild plants. However, there is a lack of detailed information about its foraging behaviour and its potential as a managed pollinator of mango. Given the growing economic importance of protected cultivation of mango, our aim is to study the flight activity and foraging behaviour of E. aeneus on this crop. Eristalinus aeneus displayed a bimodal daily activity, with peaks during mid-morning and mid-afternoon. The activity was maintained over a wide range of temperature (from 17.8 up to 37.4°C), light intensity (from 8.2 up to 57.4 klux) and relative humidity (from 19.0 up to 88.8%). The syrphids were active most of the time in this crop, and we observed five different types of activity: foraging (67%), resting (17%), flying (10%), grooming (4%) and walking (2%). This hoverfly visited hermaphrodite flowers more often than male flowers. On average, it visited 36.46 ± 13.92 flowers per 5 min, with a higher number of floral visits for nectar feeding. The duration of the visits to hermaphrodite and male flowers was similar but pollen-feeding visits lasted longer (6.44 s per flower) than nectar-feeding ones (5.51 s per flower). The highest number of visits to mango inflorescences was observed during the morning, but the longest visits occurred at midday. The implication of these results for the potential use of E. aeneus as a managed pollinator in protected cultivation of mango is discussed.

Pollination by the hoverflyEristalinus aeneus(Diptera: Syrphidae) in two hybrid seed crops: celery and fennel (Apiaceae)

“…Furthermore, standard beehives are not suitable for pollination in small isolations (Ochiuzzi, 1999; Dag, 2008; Evans et al ., 2019). For spring–summer flowering crops, such as carrot, celery and fennel, the ability of certain hoverfly species like E. aeneus to continue being active at high temperatures can also be an advantage over bumblebees (Nayak et al ., 2020; Descamps et al ., 2021; Sánchez et al ., 2022). Indeed, E. aeneus can cope well with high temperatures (>30°C) and, unlike bumblebees, they do not need to spend time and energy ventilating a hive in order to cool it down and preserve the colony.…”

The genome sequence of a hoverfly Eristalinus aeneus (Scopoli, 1763)

“…The adults visit a variety of flowers, mainly yellow composites, white umbellifers, Aster, hoary alison Berteroa incana , rock-rose Cistus , oregano Origanum , creeping willow Salix repens , ragworts and groundsels Senecio , and dandelions Taraxacum ( Speight, 2017 ) as well as other plants, such as Thymelaea velutina , endemic to the Balearic Islands ( De La Bandera & Traveset, 2006 ). This species was also found to be an effective pollinator of various crops, for example mango Mangifera indica , watermelon Citrullus lanatus , onion Allium cepa , chickpea Cicer arietinum , celery Apium graveolens and fennel Foeniculum vulgare ( Latif et al , 2019 ; Saeed et al , 2008 ; Sánchez et al , 2022a ; Sánchez et al , 2022b ; Sánchez et al , 2022c ).…”

Weeds Enhance Insect Diversity and Abundance and May Improve Soil Conditions in Mango Cultivation of South Florida

“…Blow flies (Calliphoridae) are particularly effective pollinators of mango, with flower flies (Syrphidae) also reported as good pollinators of this order [ 31 ]. These flies are capable of transporting pollen over long distances, reproducing rapidly, and are attracted to mango flowers [ 32 ].…”