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The influence of floral traits on insect foraging behaviour on medicinal plants in an urban garden of eastern India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2021

Pushan Chakraborty ,
Poulami Adhikary Mukherjee ,
Supratim Laha  and
Salil Kumar Gupta
Pushan Chakraborty*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Jogamaya Devi College, 92, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road, Kolkata700026, West Bengal, India
Poulami Adhikary Mukherjee
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Narajole Raj College, Narajole-721211, West Midnapore, West Bengal, India
Supratim Laha
Affiliation:
Ecology Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, 35, B. C. Road, Kolkata- 700019, West Bengal, India
Salil Kumar Gupta
Affiliation:
Medicinal Plants Research and Extension Centre, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur, Kolkata -700080, West Bengal, India
*
Author for correspondence:*Pushan Chakraborty, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Understanding the pollination biology of medicinal plants and their important insect pollinators is necessary for their conservation. The present study explored the complex interactions between pollinator visitation and effect of floral traits on pollinator behaviour on seven medicinal plant species grown in an urban garden in West Bengal, an eastern Indian state. The observations revealed 30 morphospecies of insect flower visitors (Diptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera) that touched floral reproductive parts on the selected plants during visitation. Additionally, it was observed that floral traits (e.g., corolla length and corolla opening diameter) were important predictors of the behaviour of insects when visiting the flowers. Plant–pollinator interactions were analysed using a bipartite network approach which explored the important links between insect and plants in the network revealing the key interactions, and species which are crucial to system maintenance. This piece of work contributes to our ability to understand and maintain a stable medicinal plant–pollinator network which will support efforts to conserve native flora and insects.

Keywords

Corolla lengthfloral traitsfloral visitorsflower opening diameterhandling timeinsect behaviourmedicinal plants
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 37 , Issue 4 , July 2021 , pp. 200 - 207
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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