A casual cantharophily: The meeting between Astylus variegatus (Coleoptera: Myleridae) and Oxypetalum banksii (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae)

Milene Faria Vieira; Rúbia Santos Fonseca

doi:10.26786/1920-7603(2011)14

Authors

Milene Faria Vieira
Rúbia Santos Fonseca

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2011)14

Keywords:

Asclepiad, Atlantic Forest, Brazil, beetles, specialized pollination, wasps

Abstract

Cantharophily is reported for the first time in a Brazilian asclepiad, involving the mylerid Astylus variegatus and the nectariferous flowers of Oxypetalum banksii, a plant mainly pollinated by wasps. The use of nectar as food by A. variegatus, considered pollinivorous and granivorous, is also novel. The mutual interaction described here is an example of a plant-pollinator interaction with generalist insects visiting a plant with a specialized pollination system. Itâ€™s also temporary and occasional and, therefore, is often overlooked in studies of plant-pollinator interactions. In this study, we found that the casual meeting between O. banksii and A. variegatus was a key event for the reproduction of both.

References

Costa Lima A (1953) Insetos do Brasil. Coleopteros. Escola Nacional de Agronomia, Rio de Janeiro.

Endress ME, Bruyns PV (2000) A revised classification of the Apocynaceae s.l. Botanical Review 66:1–56.

Endress PK (1994) Diversity and evolutionary biology of tropical flowers. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Forster PI (1989) Pollination of Marsdenia fraseri (Asclepiadaceae) by Metriorrhynchus lateralis (Coleoptera: Lycidae). Coleopterists Bulletin 43:311–312.

Kunze H (1991) Structure and function in asclepiad pollination. Plant Systematics and Evolution 176:227–253.

Hawkeswood TJ (1994) Notes on the Australian ladybird beetle Micraspis frenata (Erichson) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) feeding on nectar from Asclepias and Gomphocarpus flowers (Asclepiadaceae). Giornale Italiano di Entomologia 7:67–71.

Matioli JC, Figueira AR (1988) Dinâmica populacional e efeitos da temperatura ambiental e precipitação pluviométrica sobre Astylus variegatus (Germar, 1824) e A. sexmaculatus (Perty, 1830) (Coleoptera; Dasytidae). Anais da Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz 45:125–142.

Matioli JC, Rossi MM, Carvalho CF (1990) Ocorrência e distribuição mensal de Astylus variegatus (Germar, 1824) e A. sexmaculatus (Perty, 1830) (Coleoptera: Dasytidae) em alguns municípios do Estado de Minas Gerais. Anais da Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil 19:373–382.

Medeiros JF, Rapini A, Barbosa UC, Py-Daniel V, Braga PIS (2008) Primeiro registro de Simuliidae (Diptera) com polinários de Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae). Neotropical Entomology 37:338–341.

Ollerton J, Liede S (1997) Pollination systems in the Asclepiadaceae: a survey and preliminary analysis. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 62:593–610.

Ollerton J, Johnson SD, Cranmer L, Kellie S (2003) The pollination ecology of an assemblage of grassland asclepiads in South Africa. Annals of Botany 92:807–834.

Rapini A, Mello-Silva R, Kawasaki ML (2002) Richness and endemism in Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae) from the Espinhaço range of Minas Gerais, Brazil – a conservationist view. Biodiversity and Conservation 11:1733–1746.

Rapini A, Koch I, Kinoshita LS, Simões AO, Spina AP (2010) Apocynaceae. In: Forzza RC et al. (ed.) Lista de Espécies da Flora do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro. [on line] URL: http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/2010/FB004747.

Rossetto CJ, Rossetto D (1976) Astylus variegatus (Germar, 1824) (Coleoptera Dasytidae) danificando sorgo. Bragantia 35:131–132.

Sage TL, Broyles SB, Wyatt R (1990) The relationship between the five stigmatic chambers and two ovaries of milkweeds flowers: a three dimensional assessment. Israel Journal of Botany 39:187–196.

Schlottfeldt CS (1944) Insetos encontrados em plantas cultivadas e comuns - Viçosa, Minas Gerais. Revista Ceres 6:52–65.

Shuttleworth A, Johnson SD (2008) Bimodal pollination by wasps and beetles in the African milkweed Xysmalobium undulatum. Biotropica 40:568–574.

Shuttleworth A, Johnson SD (2009) New records of insect pollinators for South African asclepiads (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae). South African Journal of Botany 75:689–698.

Silva AGA, Gonçalves CR, Galvão DM, Gonçalves AJL, Gomes J, Silva MN, Simoni L (1968) Quarto Catálogo dos Insetos que Vivem nas Plantas do Brasil. Seus Parasitos e Predadores. Parte II – 1° Tomo. Ministério da Agricultura, Rio de Janeiro.

Souza B, Carvalho CF (1994) Aspectos morfológicos do adulto de Astylus variegatus (Germar, 1824) (Coleoptera, Melyridae). Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 29:689–694.

Vieira MF, Shepherd GJ (1999a) Pollinators of Oxypetalum (Asclepiadaceae) in southeastern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 59:693–704.

Vieira MF, Shepherd GJ (1999b) Sistema reprodutivo de Oxypetalum appendiculatum Mart. e Oxypetalum banksii Roem. & Schult. subsp. banksii (Asclepiadaceae). Acta Botanica Brasilica 13:237–241.

Vieira MF, Shepherd GJ (2002a) Oxypetalum banksii subsp. banksii: a taxon of Asclepiadaceae with an extragynoecial compitum. Plant Systematics and Evolution 233:199–206.

Vieira MF, Shepherd GJ (2002b) Removal and insertion of pollinia in flowers of Oxypetalum (Asclepiadaceae) in southeastern Brazil. Revista de Biología Tropical 50:37–43.

Woodell SRJ (1979) The role of unspecialized pollinators in the reproductive success of Aldabran plants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 286:99–108.

Wyatt R (1976) Pollination and fruit set in Asclepias - a reappraisal. American Journal of Botany 63:845–851.

Wyatt R, Broyles SB (1990) Reproductive biology of milkweeds (Asclepias): recent advances. In: Kawano S (ed) Biological approaches and evolutionary trends in plants. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 255–272.