2025/04/30 by Liedson Tavares Carneiro, Renata Drummond Marinho Cruz, Celso Feitosa Martins · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Plant and animal studies #Plant Parasitism and Resistance #Plant Reproductive Biology
paper · doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boaf042
openalex publication_date 2025/04/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/23
Abstract Daily encounters between flowers and their pollinators depend on multiple factors—physiological, abiotic, and ecological. In strictly nocturnal and crepuscular plant–pollinator interactions, the relationship between light intensity and circadian rhythms may play a crucial role as well as the foraging of competitors (e.g. honey bees). In this study, we focused on the association between nocturnal and crepuscular bees and the yellow mombin (Spondias mombin, Anacardiaceae). We assessed pollinator foraging patterns across four flowering seasons and evaluated the factors (twilight range, moon illumination, and honey bee visitation) influencing nocturnal and crepuscular bee visitation and its outcomes. Flowers opened at night and were visited by dim-light foraging bees (Megalopta amoena and Ptiloglossa goffergei) at midtwilight, with a 1-h time lag, within a short time frame, and at low frequencies. Neither twilight length nor moon illumination increased or advanced visitation, despite high resource availability, indicating that these bees are indeed strictly crepuscular. Early honey bee foraging also showed a neutral impact on crepuscular bee activity. Despite their low visitation frequency, crepuscular bees contribute to the pollination of yellow mombin, as its flowers are fully functional upon opening. Our results suggest that a twilight-related constraint—physiological or circadian—drives these interactions.