Flower Mites of Calyptrogyne ghiesbreghtiana (Arecaceae): Evidence for Dispersal Using Pollinating Bats1

Marco Tschapka; Saul A. Cunningham

doi:10.1646/03008

Flower mites decrease nectar availability in the rain-forest bromeliad Neoregelia johannis

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467410000179 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 373-379 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tadeu J. Guerra ◽

Gustavo Q. Romero ◽

Woodruff W. Benson

Keyword(s):

Rain Forest ◽

Sugar Content ◽

Sugar Concentration ◽

Production Rates ◽

Nectar Production ◽

Nectar Volume ◽

Bombus Morio ◽

Nectar Rewards ◽

Flower Mites ◽

Nectar Availability

Abstract:Nectarivorous flower mites can reduce the volume of nectar available to pollinators. The effects of the flower mite Proctolaelaps sp. on nectar availability in flowers of a melittophilous bromeliad Neoregelia johannis (Bromeliaceae) was evaluated in a coastal rain forest in south-eastern Brazil. In a randomized block experiment utilizing 18 flower pairs, one per bromeliad ramet, pollinators (Bombus morio) and mites were excluded, and then nectar volume, sugar concentration and sugar mass were quantified over the anthesis period. Mites significantly reduced nectar volume early in the morning (6h00–8h00), but not later (10h00–12h00). Mites decreased total volume of nectar available up to 22%. Sugar concentration in nectar was higher earlier in the morning, and decreased between 10h00–12h00. The pronounced consumption of nectar by mites during the period of higher sugar concentration reduced the total amount of sugar available to pollinators by 31%. This is the first study showing that flower mites decrease nectar rewards in a melittophilous plant. Because nectar volume by itself incompletely describes nectar production rates and the effects of nectar removal by flower mites on the availability of sugar, our study highlights the inclusion of sugar content in future studies assessing the effects of thieves on nectar production rates.

Flower Mites and Phoresy: the Biology of Hattena Panopla Domrow and Hattena Cometis Domrow (Acari:Mesostigmata:Ameroseiidae)

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo9960193 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 193 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

OD Seeman

Keyword(s):

Host Specificity ◽

Dorsal Surface ◽

Behavioural Response ◽

Male And Female ◽

Larval Stages ◽

Ephemeral Habitat ◽

Bruguiera Gymnorhiza ◽

Flower Age ◽

Castanospermum Australe ◽

Flower Mites

Two flower-inhabiting ameroseiid mites exhibited different degrees of host specificity; Hattena panopla occurred only in Bruguiera gymnorhiza, but Hattena cometis occurred in Aegiceras corniculatum, Castanospermum australe, Dendrophthoe vitellina, Erythrina variegara, Aloe sp. and Amyema sp. Both species of mite consumed nectar and probably pollen in the laboratory. Flowers of B. gymnorhiza were short lived and senesced after about 5 days. Most H. panopla inhabited the flower for 1-3 days and relied on birds for transport between flowers, but could move from flower to flower via plant stems and were found on ants visiting dying flowers. H. panopla responded to an aging flower by moving out of the petals onto the calyx. All post-larval stages of H. panopla were phoretic; many immature mites of both species dispersed by climbing onto the dorsal surface of dispersing adult mites. The dispersal of immature mites and the behavioural response of H. panopla to flower age were considered to be adaptations to the mite's ephemeral habitat. Adult female H. cometis and adult male and female H. panopla had sucker-like ambulacra that lacked claws, a probable adaptation for phoresy.

THE GEOGRAPHICAL ECOLOGY OF HUMMINGBIRD FLOWER MITES IN RELATION TO THEIR HOST PLANTS AND CARRIERS

Recent Advances in Acarology ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-592202-9.50066-5 ◽

1979 ◽

pp. 461-468 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Robert K. Colwell

Keyword(s):

Host Plants ◽

Geographical Ecology ◽

Flower Mites

Distribution patterns of hummingbird flower mites (Gamasida: Ascidae) in relation to floral availability on Heliconia inflorescences

Behavioral Ecology ◽

10.1093/beheco/1.2.131 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 131-139 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

David S. Dobkin

Keyword(s):

Distribution Patterns ◽

Flower Mites