Flower Visits of Insects

Spectral organization of ommatidia in flower-visiting insects.

This article reviews recent advances of studies on the spectral organization of the compound eye in lepidopteran and hymenopteran insects. The compound eyes consist of ommatidia, which contain a set of photoreceptor cells. The common feature is that the ommatidia can be divided into three types, according to the combination of spectral classes of photoreceptors. Honeybees and nymphalid butterfl...

Where is the UK's pollinator biodiversity? The importance of urban areas for flower-visiting insects

Insect pollinators provide a crucial ecosystem service, but are under threat. Urban areas could be important for pollinators, though their value relative to other habitats is poorly known. We compared pollinator communities using quantified flower-visitation networks in 36 sites (each 1 km(2)) in three landscapes: urban, farmland and nature reserves. Overall, flower-visitor abundance and specie...

Flower color preferences of insects and cattle: effects on Gentiana lutea reproductive success

Insects on flowers: The unexpectedly high biodiversity of flower-visiting beetles in a tropical rainforest canopy

Flower color preferences of insects and livestock: effects on Gentiana lutea reproductive success

Angiosperms diversification was primarily driven by pollinator agents, but non-pollinator agents also promoted floral evolution. Gentiana lutea shows pollinator driven flower color variation in NW Spain. We test whether insect herbivores and livestock, which frequently feed in G.lutea, play a role in G. lutea flower color variation, by answering the following questions: (i) Do insect herbivores...