Ants are effective pollinators of common buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum

Proper management of wild pollinators of agricultural crops requires identification of effective pollinator species. Although non‐bee pollinators are gaining increasing attention, small ground‐dwelling insects such as ants are often deemed ineffective. However, our previous study found a positive correlation between ant visitations to flowers and seed set in the distylous crop common buckwheat, suggesting a potential role of ants as effective pollinators. In this study, we aimed to confirm the effectiveness of ant pollination by conducting ant‐exclusion experiments in the field. In addition, as evidence that ants can transfer pollen, we also counted the number of pollen grains attached to the body surface of two abundant flower‐visiting ant species, Formica japonica and Camponotus japonicus. Under the ant‐exclusion treatment, the buckwheat plants showed a significant reduction (30% on average) in seed set compared with control plants, and this effect was consistent across both flower morphs (pin and thrum) and two seasons (summer and autumn). Moreover, pollen grains of each flower morph were found on both ant species visiting both types of flower, suggesting a potential contribution to seed set in buckwheat. The results of this study suggest that ants may be an underappreciated pollinator of common buckwheat.

• Publication year

  2022

• Venue

  Agricultural and Forest Entomology

• Publication date

  2022-02-11

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1111/afe.12493
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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