Distribution of insects visiting flowers in the Australian Alps

Range Diptera 62.3%: Hymenoptera 30.8%: Lepidoptera 11.2%: Coleoptera 1.9% %
Organism Insect
Reference Catherine Marina Pickering & Michelle Stock, Insect colour preference compared to flower colours in the Australian Alps, Nordic Journal of Botany, Volume 23, Issue 2, June 2003, Pages 217-223 link p.218 right column bottom paragraph & p.219 left column top paragraph
Primary Source David W. Inouye & Graham H. Pyke, Pollination biology in the Snowy Mountains of Australia: Comparisons with montane Colorado, USA, Australian Journal of ecology, Volume 13, Issue 2, June 1988 Pages 191-205 link p.199 right column top paragraph
Method Abstract: "An apparent predominance of plant taxa with pale flowers in the alpine floras of Australia and New Zealand may be due to the prevalence of insects, such as flies, that prefer pale colours and the absence of other types of potential pollinators that are attracted to bright colours such as social bees and birds. In this study, the diversity of flower colours, and the preference of insects for different colours were examined for the largest contiguous alpine area in Australia, around Mt Kosciuszko."
Comments P.218 right column bottom paragraph: "In the Kosciuszko alpine area the main potential insect pollinators are Diptera, with 60 species, belonging to 18 families found visiting flowers on alpine plants in Kosciuszko National Park (primary source). Diptera were not only the most diverse insects, they were also the most abundant visitors to flowers making up 62.3% of all insects visiting flowers in the alpine zone. The next most common visitors were Hymenoptera (30.8%), Lepidoptera (11.2%) and Coleoptera (1.9%). Very few social bees have been found visiting flowers (primary source)." Please note-it isn't clear how distributions add up to more than 100%
Entered by Uri M
ID 115232