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- Title
Butterfly pollination and high-contrast visual signals in a low-density distylous plant.
- Authors
Borges, Renee M.; Gowda, Vinita; Zacharias, Merry
- Abstract
In low-density butterfly-pollinated Mussaenda frondosa (Rubiaceae), flowers attract pollinators at short distances while conspicuous, non-rewarding accessory bracts are detectable at long distances by long-ranging pollinators such as the birdwing butterfly Troides minos that did not detect flower-bearing plants in the absence of these bracts. However, even in the absence of flowers, the white, ultraviolet-absorbing bracts attracted butterflies that visited flowerless plants. Although flower visits by short-ranging territorial butterflies declined significantly on removal of bracts, they did not cease completely. Nectar-robbing carpenter bees and birds did not change their behaviour following bract removal. Bract removal caused a significant decline in fruit set, indicating their importance as visual signals to pollinators.
- Subjects
BUTTERFLIES; POLLINATION; RUBIACEAE; HETEROSTYLISM; SPECTRAL reflectance; POLLINATORS
- Publication
Oecologia, 2003, Vol 136, Issue 4, p571
- ISSN
0029-8549
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00442-003-1336-y