Catalina
Gutiérrez-Chacón, Johanna Pantoja-Santacruz, Alexandra-Maria Klein
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| Trigona amalthea pierce holes in granadilla buds to primarily extract pollen, destroying styles, anthers and stigmas in the process. Photograph by C. Gutiérrez-Chacón. |
Flower visitors are considered pollinators when they successfully
transfer pollen from anthers to the stigmas. Animals, particularly bees, are
the main pollinators of wild and cultivated plants. However, animals may not
contribute to the pollination of plants when they act as robbers and thieves while
obtaining floral rewards (e.g., pollen and nectar). Robbers extract rewards by
making holes in buds, mature flowers or anthers without entering the flower. Thieves,
in contrast, collect rewards through the flower opening but transfer little or
no pollen, given a mismatch between the morphology or size of the flower and
that of the flower visitor. Robbery and thievery of nectar and pollen are
collectively referred as floral larceny.
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