@article {22540, title = {Short flowers for long tongues: functional specialization in a nocturnal pollination network of an asclepiad in long-tongued hawkmoths}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {54}, year = {2022}, pages = {729-738}, chapter = {729}, abstract = {

\"Since Darwin, very long and narrow floral tubes have been known to represent the main floral morphological feature for specialized long-tongued hawkmoth pollination. However, specialization may be driven by other contrivances instead of floral tube morphology. Asclepiads are plants with a complex floral morphology where primary hawkmoth pollination had never been described. We detailed here the intricate pollination mechanism of the South American asclepiad Schubertia grandiflora, where functional specialization on long-tongued hawkmoth pollinators occurs despite the short floral tube of this species. We studied two plant populations in the Brazilian Cerrado and recorded floral visitors using different approaches, such as light-trapped hawkmoths for pollen analysis, direct field observations, and IR motion-activated cameras. Finally, using a community-level approach we applied an ecological network analysis to identify the realized pollinator niche of S. grandiflora among the available niches in the pollinator community. Throughout a period of 17 years, long-tongued hawkmoths were consistently recorded as the main floral visitors and the only effective pollinators of S. grandiflora. Flowers rely on highly modified corona and gynostegium, and enlarged nectar chambers, to drive visitors and pollination mechanism. Despite its relative short-tube, network analysis placed S. grandiflora in the module including exclusively long-tongued hawkmoth pollinators and the most phenotypically specialized sphingophilous plants in the community. These results represent the first example of functional specialization in long-tongued hawkmoths in an asclepiad species. However, this specialization is uncoupled from the long floral tubes historically associated with the sphingophily syndrome.\"

}, keywords = {ASCLEPIADACEAE, BRAZIL, CERRADO, COCYTIUS, ECOLOGY, MANDUCA, MODULARITY, NECTAR COMPOSITION, PLANT-POLLINATOR NETWORKS, POLLINATION, POLLINATOR SPECIFICITY, PROTAMBULYX, SCHUBERTIA, SPHINGIDAE, XYLOPHANES}, doi = {10.1111/btp.13090}, author = {Amorim, F.W. and Marino, S. and Sanz-Veiga, P.A. and Ollerton, J. and Oliveira, P.E.} } @article {22534, title = {Darwin{\textquoteright}s Hawkmoth (Xanthopan praedicta) responds to bat ultrasound at sonar-jamming rates}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {54}, year = {2022}, month = {571-575}, pages = {1-5}, chapter = {571}, abstract = {

\"This paper reveals that Xanthopan praedicta (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) is part of the bat\–moth coevolutionary dynamic. I played recordings of bat echolocation to live X. praedicta and found that males respond with such dense ultrasound they can likely jam bat sonar. Female X. praedicta and two other sphingid species do not produce ultrasonic responses.\"

}, keywords = {ACOUSTICS, AGRIUS, BATS, COELONIA, COEVOLUTION, JAMMING, SPHINGIDAE, STRIDULATION, ULTRASONICS, XANTHOPAN}, doi = {10.1111/btp.13093}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13093}, author = {Rubin, J.J.} } @article {22533, title = {Changing the main course: strong bat visitation to the ornithophilous mistletoe Psittacanthus robustus (Loranthaceae) in a Neotropical savanna}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {54}, year = {2022}, pages = {478-489}, chapter = {478}, abstract = {

\"The Neotropical genus Psittacanthus comprises mostly specialized ornithophilous mistletoes, with rare exceptions. Psittacanthus robustus is a common ornithophilous species from the South American savannas whose bright yellow flowers secrete copious diluted nectar. Due to a three-day-long anthesis and a short, non-restrictive floral tube, we suggest that the species also serves as a resource for flower-visiting bats. In a Cerrado area in central Brazil, we investigated the usage of the species by bats through systematic bat captures for pollen sampling, its nocturnal nectar secretion dynamics, mating system, and the relative dependence on diurnal and nocturnal pollinators for reproduction. Nine phyllostomid bat species visited P. robustus. Up to 50\% of pollen samples from bats contained the species during peak flowering, equating or surpassing the prevalence of chiropterophilous species and representing roughly a third of the floral resources consumed by specialized nectarivores Glossophaga soricina and Anoura caudifer. Flowers actively produced nectar at night with volume and concentration values in the ideal ranges for bat consumption. Nectar is continuously secreted after sunset and accumulates in the absence of visitors. Psittacanthus robustus is self-compatible but seeds are set mostly by diurnal visitors. Nocturnal animals had a low and secondary contribution to plant fitness. This is the second report of bat pollination for the genus Psittacanthus, and the largest assemblage of bat visitors for the family Loranthaceae. Although ornithophilous, P. robustus is an important resource for bats in the Brazilian savanna, potentially representing a mixed or early transitional state toward bat pollination.\"

}, keywords = {AGRIUS, BATS, BRAZIL, LORANTHACEAE, NECTAR COMPOSITION, NECTAR SOURCES, POLLINATION, POLLINATOR SPECIFICITY, SPHINGIDAE, WORLDMAP1}, doi = {10.1111/btp.13070}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13070}, author = {Diniz, U.M. and Fischer, N.L.S. and Aguiar, L.M.S.} } @article {22249, title = {Bats and hawkmoths form mixed modules with flowering plants in a nocturnal interaction network}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {XX}, year = {2020}, pages = {XXX-XXX [1-12]}, chapter = {XXX}, abstract = {

\"Based on the conceptual framework of pollination syndromes, pollination networks should be composed of well-delimited subgroups formed by plants that diverge in floral phenotypes and are visited by taxonomically different pollinators. Nevertheless, floral traits are not always accurate in predicting floral visitors. For instance, flowers adapted to bat-pollination are larger and wider, enabling the exploitation by other nocturnal animals, such as hawkmoths. Thus, should an interaction network comprising bats and hawkmoths, the most important nocturnal pollinators in the tropics, be formed of mixed-taxon modules due to cross-syndrome interactions? Here, we analyzed such a network to test whether resource plants are shared between the two taxa, and how modules differ in terms of species morphologies. We sampled interactions through pollen grains collected from floral visitors in a Caatinga dry forest in northeastern Brazil. The network was modular yet interwoven by cross-syndrome interactions. Hawkmoths showed no restriction to visit the wider chiropterophilous flowers. Furthermore, bats represented a subset of a hawkmoth-dominated network, as they were restricted to chiropterophilous flowers due to constraints in accessing narrower sphingophilous flowers. As such, the bat-dominated module encompassed relatively wider flowers, but hawkmoths, especially long-tongued ones, were unrestricted by floral width or length. Thus, pollination of flowers with open architectures must be investigated with caution, as they are accessible to a wide array of floral visitors, which may result in mixed-pollination systems. Future research should continue to integrate different syndromes and pollinator groups in order to reach a better understanding of how pollination-related functions emerge from community-level interactions.\"

}, keywords = {BATS, BRAZIL, CAATINGA, DRY FOREST, INTERACTION NETWORKS, MODULARITY, POLLINATION, POLLINATOR SPECIFICITY, SPHINGIDAE, WORLDMAP1}, doi = {10.1111/btp.12902}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12902}, author = {Queiroz, J.A. and Diniz, U.M. and V{\'a}zquez, D.P. and Quirino, Z.M. and Santos, F.A.R. and Mello, M.A.R. and Machado, I.C.} } @article {21993, title = {Moth assemblages in Costa Rica rain forest mirror small-scale topographic heterogeneity}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {XX}, year = {2019}, pages = {XXX-XXX [14 pp.]}, type = {Early view}, chapter = {XXX}, abstract = {

\"In many tropical lowland rain forests, topographic variation increases environmental heterogeneity, thus contributing to the extraordinary biodiversity of tropical lowland forests. While a growing number of studies have addressed effects of topographic differences on tropical insect communities at regional scales (e.g., along extensive elevational gradients), surprisingly little is known about topographic effects at smaller spatial scales. The present study investigates moth assemblages in a topographically heterogeneous lowland rain forest landscape, at distances of less than a few hundred meters, in the Golfo Dulce region (SW Costa Rica). Three moth lineages\—Erebidae\–Arctiinae (tiger and lichen moths), the bombycoid complex, and Geometridae (inchworm moths)\—were examined by means of automatic light traps in three different forest types: creek forest, slope forest, and ridge forest. Altogether, 6,543 individuals of 419 species were observed. Moth assemblages differed significantly between the three forest types regarding species richness, total abundance, and species composition. Moth richness and abundance increased more than fourfold and eightfold from creek over slope to ridge forest sites. All three taxonomic units showed identical biodiversity patterns, notwithstanding their strong differences in multiple eco-morphological traits. An indicator species analysis revealed that most species identified as characteristic were associated either with the ridge forest alone or with ridge plus slope forests, but very few with the creek forest. Despite their mobility, local moth assemblages are highly differentially filtered from the same regional species pool. Hence, variation in environmental factors significantly affects assemblages of tropical moth species at small spatial scales.\"

}, keywords = {ABUNDANCE, BIODIVERSITY, COSTA RICA, ECOLOGY, EREBIDAE, GEOMETRIDAE, HERBIVORY, OROGRAPHIC HETEROGENEITY, RICHNESS, SATURNIIDAE, SPHINGIDAE, WORLDMAP1}, doi = {10.1111/btp.12677}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12677}, author = {Rabl, D. and Gottsberger, B. and Brehm, G. and Hofhansl, F. and Fiedler, K.} } @article {21313, title = {Wavelength discrimination and the role of ultraviolet vision in the feeding behaviour of hawkmoths}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {26}, year = {1994}, pages = {427-435}, chapter = {427}, abstract = {

\"Nocturnal Sphingidae (hawkmoths or sphinx moths) are important pollinators in tropical forests. Hawkmoth flowers are typically white to the human eye. As the retinas of hawkmoths contain ultraviolet-sensitive photoreceptors, flower patterns reflecting ultraviolet wavelengths (that are not visible to humans) might be significant to sphingid feeding behavior. The flowers of ten hawkmoth-pollinated species were examined with an ultraviolet sensitive video system in Monteverde, Costa Rica. All were found to lack ultraviolet reflectance. A common hawkmoth species, Manduca sexta, whose range extends to Costa Rica was then used in laboratory free choice experiments to determine which wavelengths elicited proboscis extension, probing and drinking of sugar water. When offered a choice between artificial flowers or backlighted filters, Manduca strongly preferred to feed at those reflecting or transmitting only wavelengths longer than 400 nm, avoiding those that also included ultraviolet wavelengths. That is, feeding behavior was best elicited by stimuli that mimicked the reflectance of typical hawkmoth flowers. Feeding behavior must be primarily activated by either the green- or violet-sensitive mechanisms (or both) of the hawkmoth visual system, while concurrent activation of the ultraviolet-sensitive mechanism interferes with it.\"

}, keywords = {COSTA RICA, MANDUCA, SPHINGIDAE, ULTRAVIOLET VISION, VISION}, url = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/2389237 }, author = {White, R.H. and Stevenson, R.D. and Bennett, R.R. and Cutler, D.E. and Haber, W.A.} } @article {20641, title = {Plant reproductive ecology of a secondary deciduous forest in Venezuela}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {10}, year = {1978}, month = {1978}, pages = {221-230}, keywords = {BEES, POLLINATION, SPHINGIDAE, VENEZUELA}, author = {Zapata, T. R. and Arroyo, M. T. K.} } @article {19858, title = {Estudio fenol{\'o}gico de cact~ceas en el enclave seco de la Tatacoa, Colombia}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {32}, year = {2000}, month = {09/2000}, pages = {397-407}, chapter = {397}, abstract = {

\"A one-year phenological study of three columnar cacti, Stenocereus griseus (Haw.) Britton \& Rose, Pilosocereus sp., Cereus hexagonus (L.) Mill., and a decumbent cactus Monvillea cf. smithiana (Britton \& Rose) Backeberg., was carried out in the Andean arid region of La Tatacoa, Colombia. Pollinators and/or dispersers of the cacti species also were studied monthly, and fecal samples were collected for the identification of pollen and seeds. The flowering of all species was prolonged and showed bimodal, multimodal, or irregular patterns. Fruiting in all species also was prolonged and followed flowering with a lag of less than two months. Although there were no simple correlations between rainfall and flowering or fruiting, flower production during the dry season was higher for S. griseus, while Pilosocereus sp. and C. hexagonus showed higher flower production during the wet season. Fruit production was also seasonal, with higher production during the wet season for S. griseus and C. hexagonus. The patterns of flowering and fruiting in M. cf. smithiana showed no relationships with dry and wet seasons. The bats Glossophaga longirostris, Carollia perspicillata, Sturnira lilium, the birds Melanerpes rubricapillus (Picidae) and Mimus gilvus (Mimidae), and moths of the family Sphingidae, were identified as pollinators and/or fruit consumers of these cacti species.

}, keywords = {BATS, BIRDS, CACTACEAE, COLOMBIA, POLLINATION, SPHINGIDAE}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1646/0006-3606(2000)032[0397:EFDCEE]2.0.CO;2}, author = {Ruiz, A. and Santos, M. and Cavelier, J. and Soriano, P.J.} } @article {19635, title = {Concentrations of lowland sphingid and noctuid moths at high mountain passes in eastern Mexico}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {22}, year = {1990}, month = {1990}, pages = {316-319}, chapter = {316}, keywords = {BIOGEOGRAPHY, MEXICO, MIGRATION, NOCTUIDAE, SPHINGIDAE, WORLDMAP1}, author = {Powell, J.A. and Brown, J.W.} } @article {19409, title = {Angraecoid orchids and hawkmoths in central Madagascar: specialized pollination systems and generalist foragers}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {19}, year = {1987}, month = {1987}, pages = {310-318}, chapter = {310}, keywords = {ANGRAECUM, MADAGASCAR, ORCHIDACEAE, PANOGENA, POLLINATION, SPHINGIDAE}, author = {Nilsson, L.A. and Jonsson, L. and Ralison, L. and Randrianjohany, E.} } @article {19026, title = {Pollen dispersal by hawkmoths in a {ILindenia rivalis} Benth. population in Belize}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {9}, year = {1977}, month = {1977}, pages = {143}, keywords = {BELIZE, LINDENIA, POLLINATION, RUBIACEAE, SPHINGIDAE}, author = {Linhart, Y. B. and Mendenhall, J. A.} } @article {18600, title = {Two potential coral snake mimics in a tropical deciduous forest}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {12}, year = {1980}, month = {1980}, pages = {77-78}, keywords = {BEHAVIOUR, DEFENCE, IMMATURE MORPHOLOGY, PREDATION, SPHINGIDAE}, author = {Janzen, D. H.} } @article {18601, title = {Patterns of herbivory in a tropical deciduous forest}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {13}, year = {1981}, month = {1981}, pages = {271-282}, keywords = {ECOLOGY, FOODPLANT SPECIFICITY, HERBIVORY, PEST, SPHINGIDAE}, author = {Janzen, D. H.} } @article {18190, title = {A tropical hawkmoth community: Costa Rican dry forest Sphingidae}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {21}, year = {1989}, month = {1989}, pages = {155-172}, chapter = {155}, keywords = {COSTA RICA, DIVERSITY, PHENOLOGY, POLLINATION, POPULATION BIOLOGY, SPHINGIDAE}, doi = {10.2307/2388706}, url = {https://www.jstor.org/stable/2388706}, author = {Haber, W.A. and Frankie, G.W.} } @article {17475, title = {Limited fruit production in Hancornia speciosa (Apocynaceae) and pollination by nocturnal and diurnal insects}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {37}, year = {2005}, month = {2005}, pages = {381-388}, chapter = {381}, abstract = {

\"Frequency and efficiency of pollinator visits strongly influence the reproductive success of self-incompatible plants. We investigated the breeding and pollination systems of Hancornia speciosa, a small tree that produces fleshy berries used in the Brazilian fruit industry. Observation and experiments were carried out in Northeastern Brazil. Thirty-three species of the visitor were recorded. Hawkmoths (Sphingidae), bees (Euglossini and Centridini), and butterflies (Nymphalidae and Hesperiidae) with long mouth parts were effective pollinators of H. speciosa. Access to nectar, the only reward for flower visitors, is determined by corolla tube length. Nylon threads of various diameters and dried mouth parts from a number of flower visitors were used in experiments to simulate flower visits. The number of pollen grains removed during such simulated visits showed no significant difference. Although xenogamic, H. speciosa presented a low pollen/ovule ratio (77). This might be related to the high efficiency of its pollination mechanism. Flowers of H. speciosa had 76 ovules on average. Seed set varied from 1 to 25, indicating that individual flowers received different amounts of outcross-pollen. Fruit production of hand cross-pollinated flowers increased by 90 percent when compared to natural pollination, suggesting pollinator limitation of H. speciosa.\"

}, keywords = {APIDAE, APOCYNACEAE, BRAZIL, HANCORNIA, HESPERIIDAE, NYMPHALIDAE, POLLINATION, POLLINATOR SPECIFICITY, SPHINGIDAE}, doi = {10.1111/j.1744-7429.2005.00050.x}, author = {Darrault, R.O. and Schlindwein, C.} } @article {17059, title = {Wing and proboscis dimensions in a sphingid fauna from western Mexico}, journal = {Biotropica}, volume = {15}, year = {1983}, month = {1983}, pages = {292-294}, keywords = {ADULT MORPHOLOGY, BEHAVIOUR, MORPHOMETRICS, POLLINATION, SPHINGIDAE}, author = {Bullock, S. H. and Pescador, A.} }