Pollination Vectors
J.E. Shields (Sun, 11 May 2008 06:44:33 PDT)

A question for plant ecologists and others interested in pollination
vectors: How does one establish that an insect species found "hanging
around" a particular species of flower in bloom is in fact a pollination
vector for that plant species?

At the moment I'm interested in some speciation questions regarding
Trillium in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and vicinity. One
question I want to look into is if there are differences in pollination
vectors that might serve to help isolate two sympatric species to some extent?

At the moment, two of us have photographed what appear to be Drosophila
(fruit flies) sitting on flowers of Trillium. Where do we go from here to
try to establish cause and effect?

Jim Shields
in very rainy central Indiana (USA)

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Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
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Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA