Nectar Robbery and Thievery in the Hawk Moth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)-Pollinated Western Prairie Fringed Orchid<i>Platanthera praeclara</i>

Fox, K. J.; Anderson, Kirk M.; Andres, Rebecca; Foster, M. C.; Foster, Celia E.; Vik, Dean; Vitt, Pati; Harris, M. O.

doi:10.1093/aesa/sav093

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In contrast, Fox et al (2015) suggested that the differences in preparation may not influence proboscis length, since it is mainly built of hard and resistant chitin. Although Fox et al's (2015) arguments are reasonable, we did not find studies with suitable data to test this hypothesis. Students measuring live specimens also face further challenges (Blackwell et al 2006;Van Hook et al 2012): handling live, fragile specimens and avoiding injuries is difficult.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Different techniques may shrink insect body parts in varying degrees (Kearns and Inouye 1993;von Schiller and Solimini 2005;Knapp 2012;Van Hook et al 2012;Moretti et al 2017). In contrast, Fox et al (2015) suggested that the differences in preparation may not influence proboscis length, since it is mainly built of hard and resistant chitin. Although Fox et al's (2015) arguments are reasonable, we did not find studies with suitable data to test this hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring proboscis length in Lepidoptera: a review

2020

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Mouthpart morphologies relate to diet range. Differences among or within species may result in resource partitioning and speciation. In plant-pollinator interactions, mouthpart length has an important role in foraging efficiency, resource partitioning and pollination, hence measuring nectarivorous insect mouthparts’ morphological variation is important. Most adult lepidopterans feed on nectars and participate in pollination. Although a vast range of studies applied morphometric measurements on lepidopteran proboscis (tongue) length, general recommendations on methodologies are scarce. We review available proboscis length measurement methodologies for Lepidoptera. Focusing on how proboscides have been measured, how accurate the measurements were, and how were these constrained by sampling effort, we searched for research articles investigating lepidopteran proboscis length and extracted variables on the aims of measurements, preparation and measurement methodology, and descriptive statistics. Different methods were used both for preparation and measurements. Many of the 135 reviewed papers did not provide descriptions of the procedures applied. Research aims were different among studies. Forty-four percent of the studies measured dead specimens, 13% measured living specimens, and 43% were unclear. Fifteen percent of the studies used callipers, 9% rulers, 1% millimetre scales, 4% ocular micrometers, 3% drawings and 14% photographs; 55% were non-informative. We emphasise the importance to provide detailed descriptions on the methods applied. Providing guidelines for future sampling and measurements, we encourage fellow researchers planning measurements to take into account the effect of specimen preparation techniques on the results, define landmarks, consider resolution, accuracy, precision, choose an appropriate sample size and report details on methodology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring proboscis length in Lepidoptera: a review

2020

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“…japonica , pollinaria did not necessarily attach to the central part of the clypeus, owing to haphazard, unstable intrafloral behavior. Additionally, its elongated clypeus occasionally enabled the beetle to reach the floral nectar without contacting the anterior part of the column, like long‐tongued hawkmoths that can suck nectar from short‐spurred orchids without contacting the floral reproductive organ (Fox et al, 2015). Thus, P. orientalis submarumorea , which has almost the same body size and feeding habits as P. pryeri pryeri (Okajima & Araya, 2012; Sakai & Fujioka, 2007), appears to be a more reliable pollinator than Ps .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beetle pollination of Luisia teres (Orchidaceae) and implications of a geographic divergence in the pollination system

Sugiura

Matsumura

Yokota

2020

Plant Species Biology

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The epiphytic orchid Luisia teres on Okinawa Island, the Ryukyus, Japan, sexually attracts male Protaetia beetles for pollination through floral scent. Here, the pollination system of L. teres on the Satsuma Peninsula, Kyushu, located approximately 600 km north of Okinawa Island, is reported. The inconspicuous flowers depend on the Cetoniinae beetles Protaetia orientalis submarumorea and Pseudotorynorrhina japonica, which both usually feed on fermented sap/ripe fruits, for pollination. The flower‐visiting P. orientalis submarumorea beetles included both males and females, and pseudocopulation was never observed. Pollinaria removal and pollination were achieved while beetles fed on floral nectar. Although P. orientalis submarumorea did not necessarily remove pollinaria more frequently than Ps. japonica, the pollinaria attached precisely to the central part of their clypeus, unlike on Ps. japonica. Our findings suggest that a geographic divergence in the pollination system occurs in Japanese L. teres. In the Ryukyus, the orchid adopts a specialized pollination system with only male‐attractive olfactory stimuli, whereas in Kyushu it has a relatively more generalized system based on only a food reward.

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“…Nevertheless, moth pollinator guilds can be diverse and form the basis of complicated pollen-transfer networks [ 8 ], [ 9 ], [ 10 ]. Some plants, such as the western prairie fringed orchid ( Platanthera praeclara ), yucca ( Yucca and Hesperoyucca ) and senita cacti ( Lophocereus schottii ), depend exclusively on one or a small number of moth species for pollination [ 11 ], [ 12 ] [ 13 ]. Declines in moth diversity and abundance could therefore lead to disruptions in the plant communities they pollinate [ 14 ], [ 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, we focus on the species of hawk moths that breed in the northeastern U.S. and feed as adults and therefore putatively serve as pollinators (but see [ 13 ]). We ask whether we can detect long-term declines for any of these species, while statistically correcting for recorder effort, from museum and private collecting records.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are pollinating hawk moths declining in the Northeastern United States? An analysis of collection records

et al. 2017

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Increasing attention to pollinators and their role in providing ecosystem services has revealed a paucity of studies on long-term population trends of most insect pollinators in many parts of the world. Because targeted monitoring programs are resource intensive and unlikely to be performed on most insect pollinators, we took advantage of existing collection records to examine long-term trends in northeastern United States populations of 26 species of hawk moths (family Sphingidae) that are presumed to be pollinators. We compiled over 6,600 records from nine museum and 14 private collections that spanned a 112-year period, and used logistic generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to examine long-term population trends. We controlled for uneven sampling effort by adding a covariate for list length, the number of species recorded during each sampling event. We found that of the 22 species for which there was sufficient data to assess population trends, eight species declined and four species increased in detection probability (the probability of a species being recorded during each year while accounting for effort, climate, and spatial effects in the GLMMs). Of the four species with too few records to statistically assess, two have disappeared from parts of their ranges. None of the four species with diurnal adults showed a trend in detection probability. Two species that are pests of solanaceous crops declined, consistent with a seven-fold drop in the area planted in tobacco and tomato crops. We found some evidence linking susceptibility to parasitoidism by the introduced fly Compsilura concinnata (Tachinidae) to declines. Moths with larvae that feed on vines and trees, where available evidence indicates that the fly is most likely to attack, had a greater propensity to decline than species that use herbs and shrubs as larval host plants. Species that develop in the spring, before Compsilura populations have increased, did not decline. However, restricting the analysis to hawk moth records from areas outside of a “refuge” area where Compsilura does not occur did not significantly increase the intensity of the declines as would be predicted if Compsilura was the primary cause of declines. Forests have recovered over the study period across most of the northeastern U.S., but this does not appear to have been a major factor because host plants of several of the declining species have increased in abundance with forest expansion and maturation. Climate variables used in the GLMMs were not consistently related to moth detection probability. Hawk moth declines may have ecological effects on both the plants pollinated by these species and vertebrate predators of the moths.

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Nectar Robbery and Thievery in the Hawk Moth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)-Pollinated Western Prairie Fringed OrchidPlatanthera praeclara

Cited by 13 publications

References 38 publications

Measuring proboscis length in Lepidoptera: a review

Measuring proboscis length in Lepidoptera: a review

Beetle pollination of Luisia teres (Orchidaceae) and implications of a geographic divergence in the pollination system

Are pollinating hawk moths declining in the Northeastern United States? An analysis of collection records

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