Nectar consumers

Nicolson, Susan W.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-5937-7_7

Cited by 128 publications

(177 citation statements)

References 260 publications

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“…(Solanaceae), which makes up a major part of the pollen spectrum throughout most of the period studied. The consistent use of certain floral sources by the bees and other pollinators may reflect the ability of these insects to "learn" or "memorize" their floral characteristics, such as colour, odour, size, and patterns, which function as indicators of rewards, such as nectar, pollen or resin (Gonzalez et al, 1995;Chittka et al, 1999;Glover, 2007;Nicolson, 2007). Although the search for particular flower sources can often be inferred from pollen spectra, this fact does not necessarily imply that these species provide a greater amount of the resource than other species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen types collected by Tetragonisca angustula (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in dry vegetation in Northeastern Brazil

Novaıs¹,

Absy²,

Santos³

2014

Eur. J. Entomol.

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Abstract. Knowing the floral origin of the pollen collected by native bees in Neotropical ecosystems enables us to understand the dynamics of the interdependent relationships between the insects and the native flora. The objectives of this study were to: (i) investigate the spectrum of plant species from which pollen is collected by Tetragonisca angustula in caatinga (dry vegetation) areas in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil; (ii) identify pollen types that could be used as regional geographical markers and (iii) determine the pollen niche breadth and the pattern of use of floral resources by this stingless bee. In total, 23 samples of the pollen stored by T. angustula were collected monthly and subjected to acetolysis. Of the 45 pollen types identified that of Prosopis juliflora (Fabaceae) and Solanum (Solanaceae) were the most frequently represented in the samples and 19 were collected by the bees at both study sites. Species characteristic of caatinga, such as Poincianella pyramidalis (Tulasne) L.P. Queiroz and Senna macranthera (de Candolle ex Colladon) H.S. Irwin & Barneby, were among the pollen identified and they were used as indicators of the geographical origin of the samples. The average values of the pollen niche breadth (H') and equitability (J') indicate that T. angustula is a generalist and homogeneous forager of the floral resources in caatinga.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen types collected by Tetragonisca angustula (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in dry vegetation in Northeastern Brazil

Novaıs¹,

Absy²,

Santos³

2014

Eur. J. Entomol.

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“…Bees can discriminate between small differences in nectar concentration and prefer high concentrations (Roubik & Buchmann 1984;Afik et al 2006;Nicolson 2007c). Among social bees, the thoracic temperature of foragers is positively correlated with the sugar concentration in feeders (Waddington 1990;Nieh & Sánchez 2005;Nieh et al 2006).…”

Section: Sugarsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bee food: the chemistry and nutritional value of nectar, pollen and mixtures of the two

2011

Self Cite

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Bees are herbivorous insects, consuming nectar and pollen throughout their life cycles. This paper is a brief review of the chemistry of these two floral resources and the implications for bee nutrition. Nectar is primarily an energy source, but in addition to sugars contains various minor constituents that may, directly or indirectly, have nutritional significance. Pollen provides bees with the protein, lipids, vitamins and minerals that are essential for larval rearing. Chemical analyses of pollen have tended to focus on the protein component of bee-collected pollens as an index of nutritional quality. However, the substantial nectar content of such samples (~50% dry mass) should not be ignored, especially in view of current interest in measuring the nutritional quality of floral resources for bees.

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“…Abiotic factors play an important role in nectar production, as they affect its evaporation, condensation, and secretion, and its re-absorption by the plant (Corbet 1978). One of the most important biotic factors that affect nectar production is foraging by pollinators, which changes the standing yield of nectar (Corbet 1978;Pacini et al 2003;Nicolson 2007). Whether this is done in the course of pollination or through simply ''stealing'' the nectar, it has a direct effect on flower nectar availability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbivory by sucking mirid bugs can reduce nectar production in Asphodelus aestivus Brot.

Samocha

Sternberg

2010

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

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This experimental study focused on the effects of a mirid bug herbivore, Capsodes infuscatus on the flower nectar yield of a Mediterranean geophyte, Asphodelus aestivus. The effects of increasing densities of adult C. infuscatus bugs on A. aestivus, on the nectar volume and concentration were examined. Significant decreases were found in the number of flowers and nectar production as C. infuscatus densities increased. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that nectar production was not affected by environmental variables (air temperature, relative air humidity and day-time) that were treated as covariates for the various bug herbivory intensities. Sugar concentration did not vary significantly among treatments, indicating that abiotic conditions were not responsible for differing nectar amounts. In light of A. aestivus's dependence on pollinator visits to produce seeds, we conclude that C. infuscatus could impair pollination success by reducing the amount of nectar in flowers. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to show that insect herbivores do not necessarily have to remove segments from the flower in order to decrease nectar secretion.

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Nectar consumers

Cited by 128 publications

References 260 publications

Pollen types collected by Tetragonisca angustula (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in dry vegetation in Northeastern Brazil

Pollen types collected by Tetragonisca angustula (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in dry vegetation in Northeastern Brazil

Bee food: the chemistry and nutritional value of nectar, pollen and mixtures of the two

Herbivory by sucking mirid bugs can reduce nectar production in Asphodelus aestivus Brot.

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