Flower-visiting and mating behaviour of Eulonchus sapphirinus (Diptera: Acroceridae)
Borkent CJ and Schlinger EI. 2008. Flower-visiting and mating behaviour of Eulonchus sapphirinus (Diptera: Acroceridae). Entomological Society of Canada. 140:250-256
From the Abstract: "Acrocerid flies are often considered to be rare and their role in pollination is poorly understood. In this study, adult Eulonchus sapphirinus Osten Sacken were common on flowers of Geranium robertianum L. (Geraniaceae) in Olympic National Park, Washington, and have morphological and behavioural characteristics that indicate a dependence on floral nectar. Both males and females of this species are good potential pollinators from a behavioral standpoint. They make few revisits to individual flowers, remain highly constant to one flowering species in each nectar-foraging bout, and carry pollen on their bodies. Individuals were abundant and formed the majority of insect visitors to G. robertianum flowers. Males and females differed in their flower-visiting behaavior, with females visiting more individual flowers and doing so more slowly than males."
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Borkent, Christopher; Schlinger, Evert
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- behaviour, Eulonchus sapphirinus (acrocerid fly), Flies (Diptera), Geranium robertianum (herb Robert), nectar, Pollination