The identity, abundance and foraging behaviour of pollinators of the self-compatible, mass-flowering Syzygium tierneyanum were investigated. Forty-five species of nectarivorous animals were recorded. Diurnal visitors included seven bird;
nine butterfly. four moth (including two hawkmoth), two bee, two ant, one wasp, three blowfly, one fruit fly,
two beetle and one weevil species. while nocturnal visitors included one bat and 12 moth (including three
hawkmoth) species. Floral dimensions were such that only the vertebrate and larger insect species regularly
contacted anthers and stigmas while foraging. Of these groups the feral honey bee (Apis mellifera) was the
most common flowet visitor. Honeyeaters and hawkmoths appeared to be the most important native
pollinators; they were abundant in the study area and visited numerous flowers (50-250) in quick succession
(1-3 s per flower) on each foraging bout. The only major differences in foraging times observed in the
pollinator array were between diurnal, diurnal and crepuscular, and nocturnal floral visitors. Spatial
partitioning of the nectar resource was limited to one instance of territoriality involving a Macleay's
honeyeater (Meliphaga rnacleayana) on a densely flowering branch prior to peak blooming time, occasional
aggressive chases by honeyeaters, and a division of foraging modes into rapid, erratic flights of 0.5– 4 m
between flowers (hawkmoths) as against nearest-flower movements (all other groups). This lack of major
spatial partitioning may have been due to the mass flowering of S. tierneyanum and the resultant
superabundance of nectar.
The vast majority (c. 99.95%) of interflower movements observed in foraging bouts of birds (and of
hawkmoths) were within the same plant. This suggests that most seeds of S. tierneyanum may be derived
from self-pollination.
From Songlines to genomes: Prehistoric assisted migration of a rain forest tree by Australian Aboriginal people
