Pollination efficiency of cockroaches and other floral visitors of Clusia blattophila

Abstract

Cockroaches have rarely been documented as pollinators. In this paper we examine whether this is because they might be inefficient at pollination compared to other pollinators. Clusia blattophila, a dioecious shrub growing on isolated rocky outcrops in French Guiana, is pollinated by Amazonina platystylata cockroaches and provides a valuable system for the study of cockroach pollination efficiency.• We examined the species composition of the visitor guild and visitation rates by means of camcorder recordings and visitor sampling. Then, we investigated the capacity for pollen transfer of principal visitors and found correlations between visitation rates and pollen loads on stigmas. In an exclusion experiment we determined the contributions of individual species to pollination success.• Amazonina platystylata, crickets and two species of Diptera transferred pollen, but the number of transferred pollen grains was only related to visitation rates in the case of cockroaches. Crickets visited and rarely carried pollen. Dipterans were as frequent as cockroaches, carried similar pollen loads, but transferred much less pollen. An estimated 41% and 17% of ovules were pollinated by cockroaches and dipterans, respectively. The remaining ovules were not pollinated. There was no spatial variation in pollinator guild composition, but cockroaches visited flowers less frequently at the smaller study site.• We demonstrate that cockroaches pollinate a large proportion of ovules. Their pollination service is not confined to one study site and, unlike that provided by dipterans, is not limited to certain years. We suggest that cockroach pollination has been overlooked and that cockroach-pollinated plants, which share certain floral features, possess adaptations to pollination by cockroaches.Plant Biology 21 (2019) 753-761

Functional Ecology of External Secretory Structures in Rivea ornata (Roxb.) Choisy (Convolvulaceae)

“…Although skipper butterflies are active during the day [ 92 ], they were able to visit R. ornata flowers during approximately the first hour of anthesis (1800–1900 h), before sunset. Pollination by cockroaches is relatively rare, with only 11 flowering plant species confirmed to date to have cockroaches as effective pollinators [ 4 , 93 , 94 ]. They do not have the long appendages necessary to forage on the nectar of R. ornata , given the long, narrow corolla tube, but the behaviors observed in this study correspond to previous reports that cockroaches feed on pollen and stigmatic exudates, and, thus, may help pollinate flowers [ 4 , 93 ].…”

“…Pollination by cockroaches is relatively rare, with only 11 flowering plant species confirmed to date to have cockroaches as effective pollinators [ 4 , 93 , 94 ]. They do not have the long appendages necessary to forage on the nectar of R. ornata , given the long, narrow corolla tube, but the behaviors observed in this study correspond to previous reports that cockroaches feed on pollen and stigmatic exudates, and, thus, may help pollinate flowers [ 4 , 93 ]. We also observed pollen on the bodies of skipper butterflies and cockroaches, so further research is necessary to compare the contributions of sphingid moths, skipper butterflies, and cockroaches and to determine which groups are effective pollinators of R. ornata .…”

“…Schum.) A. Robyns in the Malvaceae family) [ 36 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 ,…”

Reproductive assurance in three Neotropical species of Podostemaceae: strategies of self-pollination and the first report of apomixis1

“…Other members of the clusiod clade have flowers with a wide diversity of adaptations for cross-pollination, offering nectar, pollen, and floral resin as rewards for several groups of pollinators (e.g. Amaral et al 2017, Bartos et al 2015, Sanfiorenzo et al 2018, Versieux et al 2014, Vlasáková et al 2019. Podostemaceae is the only family of clusioids that occurs in rapids and waterfalls, an environment with high selective pressure, and unfavorable to visits of pollinators and crossing (e.g.…”

Spatiotemporal shifts in the role of floral traits in shaping tropical plant-pollinator interactions

“…The functional groups were defined following the common pollination syndrome groups (Birds, Bats, Flies, Bees, Wasps, Butterflies, Hawkmoths, Other moths, Non-flying-mammals (Willmer, 2011). Cockroaches were also considered as potential pollinators (Mertens et al, 2018;Vlasáková, Pinc, Jůna, & Kotyková Varadínová, 2019). Only visitors seen touching plant reproductive organs (anthers or stigmas) were considered as potential pollinators (called pollinators elsewhere in our paper) and included in our analyses (Padyšáková et al, 2013).…”