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Bamboo flowers visited by insects: do insects play a role in the pollination of bamboo flowers?

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Abstract

Relatively little is known about pollination and other aspects of the reproductive biology of bamboos, but wind pollination is assumed to be the rule, at least in woody bamboos. Documenting the reproductive biology of woody bamboos is a complex task due to the long periods of time between flowering cycles, which range from 3 to 120 years. Insects visiting Guadua paniculata and G. inermis flowers were collected in the field. Scanning electron micrographs were taken of the visiting insects. Four species of bees, three from tribe Meliponini (Geotrigona acapulconis, Plebeia frontalis and Trigona fulviventris) and one from tribe Apini (Apis mellifera), along with a syrphid fly (Toxomerus teligera) were found visiting bamboo flowers. Some species of Hemiptera were also found feeding on the flowers, such as Neortholomus jamaicensis (Lygaeidae), or preying on the flower visitors (Apiomerus pictipes (Reduviidae)). Insects visiting bamboo inflorescences may facilitate the release of pollen grains into the air, promoting outcrossing and genetic flow among the individuals of the flowering bamboo populations.

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Acknowledgments

We want to thank Tiburcio Laez of the Instituto de Ecología, A. C. for taking the scanning electron images of the insects and the pollen studied. Bianca Delfosse revised the English version of this manuscript. Enrique Ramírez García identified the fly species. We also thank two anonymous reviewers whose suggestions greatly improved the manuscript. This research was partially supported by a competitive Grant (215514) from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, México (CONACyT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia (UNAM), Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701, Col. Ex Hacienda de San José de la Huerta, 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Eduardo Ruiz-Sanchez

  2. Biodiversidad y Sistemática, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Luis C. Peredo & Jezabel B. Santacruz

  3. Estacion de Biología Chamela, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Apartado Postal 21, 48980, San Patricio, Jalisco, Mexico

    Ricardo Ayala-Barajas

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  1. Eduardo Ruiz-Sanchez
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  2. Luis C. Peredo
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  3. Jezabel B. Santacruz
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  4. Ricardo Ayala-Barajas
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Correspondence to Eduardo Ruiz-Sanchez.

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Handling editor: Livia Wanntorp.

In memory of Luis Cervantes Peredo, a great colleague and friend.

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Ruiz-Sanchez, E., Peredo, L.C., Santacruz, J.B. et al. Bamboo flowers visited by insects: do insects play a role in the pollination of bamboo flowers?. Plant Syst Evol 303, 51–59 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-016-1351-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-016-1351-1

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