Ecological Interactions Between <i>Camellia oleifera</i> and Insect Pollinators Across Heterogeneous Habitats
<i>Camellia oleifera</i> is an important woody oil plant in southern China, and developing its industry can enhance forest resource uses and increase edible oil supply. This study investigated the floral characteristics of different <i>C. oleifera</i> varieties, analysed the...
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2025-03-01
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| author | Linqing Cao Qiuping Zhong Chao Yan Xiaoning Ge Feng Tian Yaqi Yuan Jinfeng Wang Jia Wang Shengtian Chen Hong Yang |
| author_facet | Linqing Cao Qiuping Zhong Chao Yan Xiaoning Ge Feng Tian Yaqi Yuan Jinfeng Wang Jia Wang Shengtian Chen Hong Yang |
| author_sort | Linqing Cao |
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| description | <i>Camellia oleifera</i> is an important woody oil plant in southern China, and developing its industry can enhance forest resource uses and increase edible oil supply. This study investigated the floral characteristics of different <i>C. oleifera</i> varieties, analysed the species and diversity of flower-visiting insects in different habitats, identified the main pollinators and their flower-visiting behaviours, and explored the relationship between pollinating insects and their floral characteristics. The floral lifespan of individual <i>C. oleifera</i> flowers was 5–8 d across cultivars, which is essentially the same. However, floral traits and nectar sugar composition exhibited distinct differences. There were 22 species of insect pollinators from 14 genera and 8 families, including Hymenoptera and Diptera, in 3 habitats. High-potential pollinators varied by habitat, with <i>Apis cerana</i> and <i>Phytomia zonata</i> being the most frequent. A comparison showed that <i>A. cerana</i> was the best pollinator, whereas <i>P. zonata</i> had a larger population, was not affected by oil tea nectar poisoning, and could still pollinate. Therefore, the contribution of <i>P. zonata</i> cannot be overlooked. Redundancy analysis revealed the response relationship between the floral traits of <i>C. oleifera</i> and three insect population characteristics. Stamen length was the main floral trait affecting insect populations. |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj-art-e808fe9ca6504f3db6a0c8f2ad6c86c22025-08-20T02:11:14ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502025-03-0116328210.3390/insects16030282Ecological Interactions Between <i>Camellia oleifera</i> and Insect Pollinators Across Heterogeneous HabitatsLinqing Cao0Qiuping Zhong1Chao Yan2Xiaoning Ge3Feng Tian4Yaqi Yuan5Jinfeng Wang6Jia Wang7Shengtian Chen8Hong Yang9Experimental Center of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Xinyu 338000, ChinaExperimental Center of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Xinyu 338000, ChinaExperimental Center of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Xinyu 338000, ChinaInstitute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, ChinaExperimental Center of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Xinyu 338000, ChinaExperimental Center of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Xinyu 338000, ChinaExperimental Center of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Xinyu 338000, ChinaExperimental Center of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Xinyu 338000, ChinaExperimental Center of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Xinyu 338000, ChinaExperimental Center of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Xinyu 338000, China<i>Camellia oleifera</i> is an important woody oil plant in southern China, and developing its industry can enhance forest resource uses and increase edible oil supply. This study investigated the floral characteristics of different <i>C. oleifera</i> varieties, analysed the species and diversity of flower-visiting insects in different habitats, identified the main pollinators and their flower-visiting behaviours, and explored the relationship between pollinating insects and their floral characteristics. The floral lifespan of individual <i>C. oleifera</i> flowers was 5–8 d across cultivars, which is essentially the same. However, floral traits and nectar sugar composition exhibited distinct differences. There were 22 species of insect pollinators from 14 genera and 8 families, including Hymenoptera and Diptera, in 3 habitats. High-potential pollinators varied by habitat, with <i>Apis cerana</i> and <i>Phytomia zonata</i> being the most frequent. A comparison showed that <i>A. cerana</i> was the best pollinator, whereas <i>P. zonata</i> had a larger population, was not affected by oil tea nectar poisoning, and could still pollinate. Therefore, the contribution of <i>P. zonata</i> cannot be overlooked. Redundancy analysis revealed the response relationship between the floral traits of <i>C. oleifera</i> and three insect population characteristics. Stamen length was the main floral trait affecting insect populations.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/3/282<i>Camellia oleifera</i>flower-visiting insectspollination biologyadaptation |
| spellingShingle | Linqing Cao Qiuping Zhong Chao Yan Xiaoning Ge Feng Tian Yaqi Yuan Jinfeng Wang Jia Wang Shengtian Chen Hong Yang Ecological Interactions Between <i>Camellia oleifera</i> and Insect Pollinators Across Heterogeneous Habitats Insects <i>Camellia oleifera</i> flower-visiting insects pollination biology adaptation |
| title | Ecological Interactions Between <i>Camellia oleifera</i> and Insect Pollinators Across Heterogeneous Habitats |
| title_full | Ecological Interactions Between <i>Camellia oleifera</i> and Insect Pollinators Across Heterogeneous Habitats |
| title_fullStr | Ecological Interactions Between <i>Camellia oleifera</i> and Insect Pollinators Across Heterogeneous Habitats |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ecological Interactions Between <i>Camellia oleifera</i> and Insect Pollinators Across Heterogeneous Habitats |
| title_short | Ecological Interactions Between <i>Camellia oleifera</i> and Insect Pollinators Across Heterogeneous Habitats |
| title_sort | ecological interactions between i camellia oleifera i and insect pollinators across heterogeneous habitats |
| topic | <i>Camellia oleifera</i> flower-visiting insects pollination biology adaptation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/3/282 |
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