A preliminary report on the pollination of Sarracenia purpurea in a forest-swale ecotone

TitleA preliminary report on the pollination of Sarracenia purpurea in a forest-swale ecotone
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1983
AuthorsO’Neil WSue
JournalCarnivorous Plant Newsletter
Volume12
Pagination60-62, 74
KeywordsSARRACENIA
Abstract

This study was conducted during the summer of 1979 while the author was a student at the University of Michigan Biological Station, near Pellston. Sarracenia purpurea flowers (161 flowers) were studied for a period of 29 hours during anthesis over a nine-day interim. Visitors to the flowers were collected in hope of establishing the pollinator(s) of the plant. Members of the Halictidae (a cosmopolitan family of small black or brightly metallic solitary bees) primarily were caught and thought to be acting as pollinators. Bombus terricola (bumblebee) females were also collected and may play a minor role in pollination. Other insects, including flies and beetles, were found as visitors, although they were unlikely pollinators.