[Pollinator] Fwd: Insects visiting pink flower Spiranthes sinensis

[Peter Bernhardt]

Hello:

I returned from Yunnan the last week in August but research in the wet
meadows of Li-jiang continues.  It's in these meadows that  Spiranthes
sinensis (Chinese lady's tress orchid) has two color forms; white and deep
pink.  Dr Ren caught the following bees yesterday and they are color coded
in their titles.  Note that, regardless of color, the pollinaria appears to
be deposited on the proboscis. However, the white form seems more likely to
be pollinated by Bombus and Apis cerana while halictids and smaller apids
(Ceratina anyone?) are more likely to forage on the pink.  Interestingly
the pink form has a far broader distribution (it can tolerate drier
habitats) and is found as far south as New Zealand and Tasmania.

Peter


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: 任宗昕 <renzongxin at mail.kib.ac.cn>
Date: Fri, Sep 4, 2015 at 6:28 AM
Subject: Insects visiting pink flower Spiranthes sinensis
To: Peter Bernhardt <bernhap2 at slu.edu>, Gerardo Camilo <camilogr at slu.edu>,
Mike Arduser <Michael.Arduser at mdc.mo.gov>, "Nicolas J.Vereecken" <
nicolas.vereecken at ulb.ac.be>



Dear Prof. Bernhardt,

It is a big day! I got eight bees from pink flowers of Spiranthes sinensis,
and also three Apis cerana and two bumblebees from white flowers of S.
sinensis.

Specimens 38, 39, 40, 41 are likely from genus Ceratina, am I right?
Specimen 42 is different, it has very short tongue, but you can also find
the residual pollinia of Spiranthes on its tongue.

Specimen 37 is from white flower, it carries about six pollinia.

Best,

Zong-Xin


--

*********************************
Zong-Xin Ren, PhD

Assistant Professor

Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia,
Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
132 Lanhei Road, Kunming, Yunnan 650201, P. R. China
Tel: +86－871-5223534
Fax: +86－871-5217791
E-mail: renzongxin at mail.kib.ac.cn

http://renzongxinorchid.weebly.com/
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