Nectar sugar composition and flower visitors for the naturalized exotic Lantana camara (Verbenaceae) at Central Argentina

The aim of this work is to describe and quantify the flower visitors of the invasive Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) at the Chaco forest, and to analyze possible relations between nectar sugar composition and the main pollinators for this species. Volumes of nectar and sugar concentration were measu...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Torres, Carolina Cecilia, Galetto, Leonardo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/22532
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/22532
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:NECTAR SUGAR COMPOSITION
BUTTERFLIES
BUMBLEBEES
HONEYBEES
INVASIVE SPECIES
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:The aim of this work is to describe and quantify the flower visitors of the invasive Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) at the Chaco forest, and to analyze possible relations between nectar sugar composition and the main pollinators for this species. Volumes of nectar and sugar concentration were measured in six different populations of the naturalized exotic L. camara in Central Argentina. Quantitative nectar sugar composition was determined and compared between populations. In general, nectar sugar concentration ranged between 25-28% and volume per flower was very low (<1μL). Nectar sugars are glucose, fructose and sucrose for all populations, but hexoses clearly predominate over sucrose. Different insects were registered visiting the inflorescences. The more frequent pollinators were many species of diurnal butterflies, honeybees and bumblebees. A diverse insect assemblage visiting flowers of L. camara guarantees a high fruit production which can be related to the invasion process of this species in the Chaco region from Central Argentina.