The pollination ecology of Rhododendron floccigerum in Yunnan Province, China

by Elizabeth Georgian, Zhendong Fang, Eve Emshwiller, and Anna Pidgeon

Rhododendron floccigerum. Photograph by E. Georgian

Rhododendron is a large genus composed of approximately 1000 species that have a center of diversity in the Himalayas.  Little is known about the pollination ecology of Asian rhododendrons. Bird pollination has been proposed for Rhododendron species with large, red, nectar-bearing flowers, such as Rhododendron floccigerum, but no studies have been conducted to determine what species visit these rhododendrons.

We focused our study on one species of Rhododendron with this morphology: R. floccigerum. We sought to identify the species that visit R. floccigerum in their native range in northwestern Yunnan Province, southwestern China through both in-person observations and camera traps.

Read the whole summary in: English or Chinese!
Read the scientific publication in JPE.

Minute pollinators: Thrips

by Dorit Eliyahu et al.

Thrips on flowers of pointleaf manzanita

Thrips are very small insects (often no larger than 2 mm), many species of which feed on plant leaves and flowers. In addition to causing physical damage, this can also transfer plant viruses. It is not surprising, therefore, that thrips are often looked upon as pests when found in agricultural settings. 

This bad rap has often stood in the way of recognizing the potential benefits these insects may provide in nature, such as pollination services. In this paper we describe research that examined whether thrips might contribute to reproductive success of pointleaf manzanita plants.

Read the whole summary in: English!
Read the scientific publication in JPE.