Role of color and odor on the attraction of insect visitors to spring blooming trillium
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Natasha Marie Shipman (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- Laura DeWald
Abstract: Plants relying on insects to pollinate flowers attract pollinators through varying
floral cues such as unique colors and scents. Pollinators rely on these cues to identify
flowers for sources of food such as nectar, pollen, and oils. The goals of this study were
to investigate color and odor cues associated with pollinator attraction in populations of
Trillium at the Botanical Gardens, Asheville, NC. Insect visitors to the red-scented T.
cuneatum and white-non-scented T. grandiflorum were collected using tangle-trap,
bottle-traps, transect walk methods. Floral color and odor cues also were investigated
using artificial flowers placed among a spring blooming plant community. Artificial
flowers colored wine-red, white, or yellow and scented or unscented were covered with
transparency film and sprayed with tangle-trap to capture insect visitors. Insects were
identified to the level of order and family. Insect visitors to T. cuneatum and T.
grandiflorum did not differ and primarily consisted of individuals belonging to the order
Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Coleoptera. Diptera were the most abundant visitors
consisting of weakly flying dipteran such as Sciaridae and Mycetophilidae. Similar to
the real flowers the main visitors to artificial flowers were Diptera, Hymenoptera, and
Coleoptera but also included 13 additional orders representing 106 families. Some
orders and families collected showed low abundances that could reflect they were being
repelled by the floral cues or might not be abundanct in the study area. Overall there was a difference in color (p < 0.05) but not odor (p > 0.05). However, when looking at
each individual order or family separately, some orders and families were equally
distributed for color and odor while others were not, indicating that the importance of
floral cues depends on the insect family investigated. For those that were not equally
distributed for color, insects were found in greater average percent of individuals on
yellow flowers but there was no difference between red and white. For those that were
not equally distributed for odor, a greater average percent of individuals were found on
scented flowers. Some insects were generalists; visiting all artificial flower treatments
randomly, while other insects were more specialized visiting certain color and/or odor
treatments in greater numbers indicating a continuum along a gradient of generalized to
specialized insect visitors. The ability for plants to attract generalist insect visitors and
the ability for insects to visit multiple floral cues might be important where visitation is
affected by varying weather conditions and advantageous in the event of environmental
change and human altered ecosystems.
Role of color and odor on the attraction of insect visitors to spring blooming trillium
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Created on 7/1/2011
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2011
- Keywords
- insect, plant, pollination, visitation
- Subjects
- Trilliums -- Pollination
- Insect pollinators -- Behavior