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Pollination and Flower Structure

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Field Experiments of Pollination Ecology: The Case of Lycoris sanguinea var. sanguinea
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Differential pollinator importance contributes to flower colour variation along an elevational gradient.

Jonathan Heinze1, Casper J van der Kooi2, Johannes Spaethe1

  • 1Department of Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.

Biology Letters
|June 10, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Beetles are more effective pollinators than honeybees for Anemone pavonina flowers, especially at lower elevations. This explains why flower specialization shifts to bees at higher elevations where beetles are absent, creating an elevational color gradient.

Keywords:
GlaphyridaeRanunculaceaebeetle pollinationflower colour polymorphismpollinator effectivenesspollinator importancepollinator-mediated selectionpoppy guild flowers

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Botany

Background:

  • Floral diversity in angiosperms is often driven by pollinator-mediated selection.
  • Mediterranean red flowers typically attract beetles (Glaphyridae) and bees, but can specialize on bees in beetle-absent areas like high elevations.
  • The color polymorphism in Anemone pavonina presents an opportunity to study pollinator specialization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the pollination effectiveness of honeybees and beetles for the color-polymorphic Anemone pavonina.
  • To understand the factors driving apparent floral specialization along an elevational gradient.
  • To investigate the role of pollinator importance in shaping floral traits and color.

Main Methods:

  • Studied natural populations of Anemone pavonina along the slope of Mount Olympus, Greece.
  • Recorded flower visit duration and frequency for honeybees and Pygopleurus beetles.
  • Quantified single-visit seed set to determine per-visit pollination effectiveness.

Main Results:

  • Beetles demonstrated significantly higher per-visit pollination effectiveness (36.3% seed set) compared to honeybees (9.5%).
  • Beetle visits were substantially longer (56 seconds) than honeybee visits (2 seconds).
  • Beetle pollinator importance decreased with elevation, while bee pollinator importance remained constant but low, exceeding beetles only at higher elevations.

Conclusions:

  • Floral specialization for beetle pollination is advantageous at lower elevations due to higher beetle pollinator importance.
  • Specialization for bee pollination becomes beneficial at higher elevations where beetle presence is limited.
  • Differential pollinator importance along the elevational gradient contributes to the observed flower color gradient in Anemone pavonina.