Pollinator's attraction to Flower Color and Scents

Most of the pollinators that I observed were honey bees; however, there were also a few butterflies, dragonflies, hummingbirds, wasps, other birds and other insect pollinators. One of the observed behaviors from these species is that they prefer bright flowers. Most of the plants that were being pollinated had very bright colored petals/ flowers. According to an study on the correlation between pollination and floral color, most pollinators, especially bees, are more likely to be more attracted to brightly colored flowers. Furthermore, most plants produce specific floral scents in order to attract more pollinators. Thus, leads to the hypothesis that pollinators are more likely to be attracted to colorful flowers and/or plants that produce distinct scents.

References:

Malerba, R., & Nattero, J. (2012). Pollinator response to flower color polymorphism and floral display in a plant with a single-locus floral color polymorphism: consequences for plant reproduction. Ecological Research, 27(2), 377-385. doi:10.1007/s11284-011-0908-2

Menzel, R., & Shimada, A. (1993). THE ECOLOGY OF FLOWER COLOURS AND THE NATURAL COLOUR VISION OF INSECT POLLINATORS: THE ISRAELI FLORA AS A STUDY CASE, 81-120. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1993.tb00732.x/full

Page, P., Favre, A., Schiestl, F. P., & Karrenberg, S. (2014). Do Flower Color and Floral Scent of Silene Species affect Host Preference of Hadena bicruris, a Seed-Eating Pollinator, under Field Conditions?. Plos ONE, 9(6), 1-9. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098755

Publicado el diciembre 11, 2017 05:56 MAÑANA por jswoosh89