Resumo

MALERBO SOUZA, Darclet Teresinha. Visitors insects on passion flowers (Passiflora cincinnata). Zootecnia Trop. [online]. 2011, vol.29, n.1, pp.17-27. ISSN 0798-7269.

This experiment was conducted in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, from November 2009 until April 2010, to identify the floral visitors and within them what are the potential pollinators in Passiflora cincinnata, the type collection made by these visitors (nectar and/or pollen) and foraging behavior of these species. The frequency and type of insect collection, during the day, were obtained by counting the first ten minutes of each hour, from dawn to dusk, with five replicates. The insects found in flowers of P. cincinnata were Oxaea flavescens (62,7%; Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Euglossa sp. (10,1%; Hymenoptera: Apidae), Augochlora sp. (9,8%; Hymenoptera: Halictidae), Epicharis sp. (9,0%; Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Apis mellifera (8,4%; Hymenoptera: Apidae). O. flavescens, Euglossa sp., Augochlora sp. and Epicharis sp. collected nectar in the flowers. Only A. mellifera collected pollen. All the bees that visited flowers of P. cincinnata were constant: O. flavescens (100%), Euglossa sp. (66,7%), Augochlora sp. (61,1%), Epicharis sp. (58,33%) and A. mellifera (58,33%). It can be concluded that the pollinators of flowers of P. cincinnata were large bees, while the smaller species visited the flowers without effecting pollination.

Palavras-chave : bees; pollination; Passiflora cincinnata; passion fruit.