ADAPTATIONS OF Lamium album L. FLOWERS TO POLLINATION BY APOIDEA
2014
Sulborska, Aneta | Dmitruk, Marta | Konarska, Agata | Weryszko-Chmielewska, Elżbieta
The presence of ruderal and mid-field vegetation promotes conservation of biodiversity and provides an additional source of food for insect pollinators. The white deadnettle is a common synanthropic plant visited frequently by various groups of insects, as it is a source of pollen and nectar. In 2012–2013, in the city of Lublin (Poland), signalling and food attractants in L. album flowers were analysed using light and scanning electron microscopy. The pipetting method was used for determination of nectar abundance in the flowers, and the content of sugars in the nectar was assessed with the use of an Abbe refractometer. It was found that the white dead-nettle flowers emitted a fragrance and were equipped with nectar guides, and the corolla and stamens had glandular trichomes and papillaesecreting essential oils. On the stamens, there are also non-glandular trichomes, which play a role of pollen presenters. The nectary in the L. album flower has a shape of an irregular disc partly surrounding the base of the ovary. The content of sugars in the nectar was 43%. Sugar and honey yields per ha were calculated, and the values obtained were 153 kg and 191 kg, respectively.
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