Ecology of insects and other arthropods of Rafflesia consueloae Galindo et al.
2019
John Sy, E.P. | Ong, P.S. | Lit, I.L., Jr
Studying the ecology of insect and other arthropods visitors of Rafflesia is important in understanding their roles on its life history and propagation such as through pollination. This pioneering study documented 19 flowers of the most recently discovered Rafflesia consueloae Galindon et al. in five sites in Mt. Balukbok, Nueva Ecija, Philippines using video cameras to determine visitor species diversities, assemblages, behaviors, and interactions with the flower. Visitation of various insects and other arthropods (grouped into morphospecies) were captured through video footage and the assessed using Cowlog 3.0.2 by recording durations of visits, tallying behaviors exhibited from a user-made behavior classification system, and comparing species diversity between specimens collected from field sampling and from videos. Sixteen morphospecies were identified from the videos in interaction with the flower. Of these, only one did not belong to insect. An additional nine morphospecies were collected during field sampling, all of which were dipterans, bringing to 25 the potential arthropod assemblage in Mt. Balukbok. Of those interacting with the flower, Diptera sp. 1, Sarcophagidae sp. 1, Calliphoridae sp. 1, and Conopidae sp. 1 were the most abundant. Calliphoridae sp. 1 and Sarcophagidae sp. 1 were observed to exhibit 'landing' behaviors most frequently. These carrion flies were also the only morphospecies observed to carry pollen out of the flower. Conopidae sp. 1 was consistently observed to oviposit on the perigone lobes and diaphragm. R. consueloae follows a low-level of sapromyophily as its pollination syndrome, while also being capable of brood-site deception.
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