The role of beetles in the pollination of Zamia furfuracea L. fil. (Zamiaceae)

A snout weevil, Rhopalotria mollis Sharp, is found to complete the reproductive phases of its life cycle upon and within male cones of the cycad, Zamia furfuracea. Larvae of this insect feed upon tissues of the male cone, pupate, and emerge as pollen-coated adults after boring through microsporangia...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biotropica 1986-12, Vol.18 (4), p.300-306
Main Authors: Norstog, K.J, Stevenson, D.W, Niklas, K.J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Beetles
Biological and medical sciences
CICADINAS
COLEOPTERA
CYCADS
CYCAS
Female animals
FLORIDA
FLORIDE
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Insect pollination
Male animals
MEXICO
MEXIQUE
Ovules
Plant reproduction
Plants
POLINIZACION
POLINIZADORES
Pollen
POLLINATION
POLLINATORS
POLLINISATEUR
POLLINISATION
Protozoa. Invertebrata
TROPICAL ZONES
Weevils
ZONA TROPICAL
ZONE TROPICALE
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A snout weevil, Rhopalotria mollis Sharp, is found to complete the reproductive phases of its life cycle upon and within male cones of the cycad, Zamia furfuracea. Larvae of this insect feed upon tissues of the male cone, pupate, and emerge as pollen-coated adults after boring through microsporangia and microsporophylls. Mature weevils visit pollen-receptive female cones but are nondestructive to ovules and seeds. Exclusion experiments show that weevils are capable of effecting the pollination of ovules of Z. furfuracea in the absence of airborne pollen.
ISSN:0006-3606
1744-7429
DOI:10.2307/2388573