The invasive ‘mothcatcher’ (Araujia sericifera Brot.; Asclepiadoideae) co-opts native honeybees as its primary pollinator in South Africa

Abstract

Araujia sericifera is a South American milkweed which is an invasive/exotic species in South Africa. This species relies on pollinators for sexual reproduction and we show it has co-opted native South African honeybees as primary pollinators in its adopted country. Moths also visit the flowers of this species, but contribute little to its relatively high pollination success.

The diversity and evolution of pollination systems in large plant clades: Apocynaceae as a case study

“…An important future value of the Pollinators of Apocynaceae Database will be to assess a number of conservation issues. These include the extent to which introduced honey-bees ( Apis mellifera ) and other pollinators are affecting plant reproduction (and potentially selection on floral traits) as well as the ability of introduced, invasive Apocynaceae to co-opt native pollinators, for example the South American Araujia sericifera that uses honey-bees as its pollinator in South Africa (Coombs and Peter, 2010). Plant-pollinator interactions–pollinator interactions within the family present different degrees of specialization at ecological, functional or phenotypic levels ( sensu Ollerton et al , 2007).…”

Generalized food deception: colour signals and efficient pollen transfer in bee-pollinated species ofEulophia(Orchidaceae)

“…Rates of PTE and other measures of visitation such as pollinarium removal and pollinium deposition in Eulophia are variable both within and between species (Table ), probably as a consequence of stochastic fluctuations in foraging pollinator populations and the changes in abundance of surrounding rewarding species. PTE has rarely been tracked through the flowering period, but, where this has been done, there is variation between sample dates in rewarding species (Peter & Johnson, ; Coombs & Peter, ; Coombs et al ., ). Coombs, Peter & Johnson (), however, showed that PTE was independent of population size in a rewarding asclepiad.…”

Biotic Interactions as Mediators of Biological Invasions: Insights from South Africa

“…In contrast, other specialised species such as the Moth Catcher (Araujia sericifera), which, as its common name suggests, is moth pollinated, is largely visited by native honeybees, Apis mellifera, in South Africa. South African honeybees have learnt to access the nectar of the large moth catcher flowers (Coombs and Peter 2010). Despite the expectation that highly specialised mutualistic interactions may hamper establishment success (i.e.…”