Abstract

MAZZEI, Mariana Paola; VESPRINI, José Luis  and  GALETTO, Leonardo. Non-pollinating flower visitors in flowers of the genus Cucurbita and their relationship with the presence of pollinating bees. Acta Agron. [online]. 2020, vol.69, n.4, pp.256-265.  Epub Oct 08, 2021. ISSN 0120-2812.  https://doi.org/10.15446/acag.v69n4.87639.

Visiting flower insects can be pollinators or, on the contrary, have no relation to the reproductive process of plants. Interactions between pollinating and non-pollinating floral visitors can negatively influence pollen transfer. Little is known about the effects of bee visits on the pollination of squash flowers (Cucurbita spp.) their interactions with the presence of other floral visitors. The study was carried out at the Faculty of Agrarian Sciences (National University of Rosario) in the south of Santa Fe (Argentina). The effect of the presence of non-pollinating floral visitors on the foraging of bees present in the flowers of two cultivated species of pumpkin was evaluated. As variables, the sex of the flower and the squash species C. maxima and C. moschata were included. A total of 937 visitors were registered in 403 flowers. Bees from the Eucerini and Apini tribes were the most abundant pollinators with an average of 2.3 individuals per flower during 10 minutes of observation. Diptera, flower sex and pumpkin species did not influence the number of visits by bees, while the prolonged stay of coleoptera and formicids negatively affected the presence of bees in both pumpkin species. The presence of beetle reduced bee visits by 38%; in the presence of ants, the bees did not look for the flowers. The theft of nectar and pollen by non-pollinating floral visitors can have a negative effect on the reproductive success of squash.

Keywords : Coleoptera; Diptera; Formicidae; Interaction; Squash.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )