Floral visitors of Aechmea constantinii (Mez) L. B. Sm. (Bromeliaceae) in a remnant of the Brazilian Northeast Atlantic Rainforest

Abstract

This study aims to determine the floral visitors and potential pollinators of Aechmea constantinii (Mez) L. B. Sm. (Bromeliaceae), a bromeliad endemic to the Brazilian Northeast Atlantic Rainforest. Reproductively-active individuals were observed systematically and their visitors were recorded and determined. The main recorded fl oral visitors were Glaucis hirsutus, Phaethornis ruber and Phaethornis pretrei (hummingbirds) which executed frontal functional floral visits in which they touched the parts of the fl owers. Visits of Plebeia flavocincta, Plebeia sp., Trigona spinipes and Euglossa cordata (bees) and Talides sergestu and Strymon ziba (butterflies) were also recorded. In addition, two ants (Hymenoptera, Insecta, Formicidae) were identifi ed in activity on the fl oral scapes and flowers of the studied bromeliad. The suggestion is made in the study that the A. constantinii is pollinated by hummingbirds since these birds executed direct frontal visits to the fl owers, touching reproductive structures. The identification of pollen on the bodies of bees and butterflies, as well as the contact executed by visitors, with the stigma of the visited flowers, offered an indication that these species may exert an influence as secondary pollinators of Aechmea constantinii.

Keywords

• floral biology
• Phaethornis ruber
• pollination
• Trochilidae