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The March fly and the ant: the unusual pollination system of Eustegia minuta (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae)

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Abstract

Pollination studies of South African Asclepiadeae (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) have mostly examined species in the moist summer-rainfall grasslands, with limited studies of the early-diverging groups occurring in the drier winter-rainfall habitats. This study examined the pollination and floral traits of Eustegia minuta, an unusual species endemic to the winter-rainfall Greater Cape Floristic Region and representing an early-diverging clade within the Asclepiadeae. Observations of floral visitors in Jonkershoek Nature Reserve showed that this species is visited primarily by a species of March fly, Bibio turneri (Bibionidae). These flies moved actively between plants and carried pollinaria on their mouthparts. In addition, an ant species, Camponotus vestitus (Formicidae), and a single honey bee Apis mellifera capensis (Apidae) individual carried pollinaria and may contribute to pollination. Bagging experiments confirmed that flowers require pollinators for reproduction. Flowers produced small amounts (1.2 µl per flower) of concentrated (32.5% sugar) nectar. Pollination success was low (14.5% of flowers were pollinated and 3.4% of flowers developed fruits). Pollen transfer efficiency (PTE) was 5.2%. The corolla reflectance was similar to that of green leaves, but the gynostegium exhibited a relatively bright human-white spectral curve. Floral scent comprised over 50 compounds, but was dominated by various aromatics along with 2,3-heptandione, (E)-4,8-dimethylnona-1,3,7-triene and several unidentified compounds. We conclude that E. minuta is pollinated primarily by the March fly B. turneri, although ants and possibly honey bees may make a lesser contribution. Pollination by bibionid flies has not previously been reported in asclepiads and is extremely uncommon amongst angiosperms.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank John Skartveit and Peter Slingsby for assistance with the identification of the bibionids and ants respectively; Alex Hall, Alison Bijl and Sean Evans for assistance in the field; Steve Johnson for access to the GC-MS equipment; and, Timo van der Niet and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. AS, SLS and YC thank the National Research Foundation of South Africa for funding (Grant Numbers 91441 and 90691). Finally, we would like to thank Jonkershoek Nature Reserve and CapeNature for access to the study site.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

    Yolanda Chirango, Peter V. Bruyns & Jeremy J. Midgley

  2. Department of Plant Sciences and Afromontane Research Unit, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, Private Bag X13, Phuthaditjhaba, 9866, South Africa

    Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen

  3. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa

    Adam Shuttleworth

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  1. Yolanda Chirango
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  3. Peter V. Bruyns
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  4. Jeremy J. Midgley
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Correspondence to Adam Shuttleworth.

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Chirango, Y., Steenhuisen, SL., Bruyns, P.V. et al. The March fly and the ant: the unusual pollination system of Eustegia minuta (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae). Arthropod-Plant Interactions 13, 745–755 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-019-09675-2

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