Nocturnal hawkmoth pollination in fynbos vegetation: A critical re-appraisal and first observations from the Cape Peninsula

Résumé

Pollination by nocturnal hawkmoths is considered rare in the hyper-diverse fynbos vegetation, but it is also hard to detect. Here, we present evidence for hawkmoth pollination of an orchid in fynbos vegetation on the Cape Peninsula, where this pollination system has not yet been recorded. Both direct observations and motion-activated camera footage revealed hawkmoths, several of which were identified as Hyles livornica (Esper, 1780), foraging from the long nectar spurs of flowers of Satyrium candidum . Several individuals carried pollinaria, suggesting they are legitimate pollinators. These observations add to a growing number of studies that document interactions between flowers and nocturnal hawkmoths in fynbos, and the presence of a small guild of native sphingophilous plants in fynbos vegetation suggests that hawkmoths must have been present in the region over evolutionary time scales. Although fynbos supports fewer hawkmoth species involved as pollinators compared to other regions, and fewer plant species representing fewer lineages in this vegetation type are known to rely on hawkmoth pollination, further quantitative analyses and field studies are required to evaluate whether hawkmoths represent a less-favored pollination niche for fynbos plants.

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