Table 2.
Summary of the total number of different species of insects caught visiting the flowers of A. sericifera, sampling effort (sampling days and hours) and the average number of whole, and half pollinaria and corpuscula borne by each taxon
| Species | Order | Family | Number of days sampled | Total number of hours sampled | Number of individuals caught | Number of individuals bearing pollinaria | Whole pollinaria (mean ± 1 SE) | Half pollinaria (mean ± 1 SE) | Corpuscula (mean ± 1 SE) | Total pollinium load (mean ± 1 SE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diurnal visitors | ||||||||||
| A. mellifera | Hymenoptera | Apidae | 6 | 8 | 158 | 110 | 0.85 ± 0.84 | 0.21 ± 0.42 | 0.082 ± 0.34 | 1.14 ± 0.1 |
| X. caffra | Hymenoptera | Apidae | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| X. flavicollis | Hymenoptera | Apidae | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nocturnal visitors | ||||||||||
| A. sabulifera | Lepidoptera | Noctuidae | 15 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Athetis pigra | Lepidoptera | Noctuidae | 15 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Borolia spp. | Lepidoptera | Noctuinae | 15 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| E. congressa | Lepidoptera | Noctuidae | 15 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. congressa or E. sobria | Lepidoptera | Noctuidae | 15 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| H. armigera | Lepidoptera | Noctuidae | 15 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0.50 ± 0.50 | 0 | 0 | 0.50 ± 0.50 |
| S. cilium | Lepidoptera | Noctuidae | 15 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0.67 ± 0.33 | 0 | 0 | 0.67 ± 0.33 |
| T. capensis | Lepidoptera | Sphingidae | 15 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. inferior | Lepidoptera | Noctuinae | 15 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 0.60 ± 0.24 | 0.2 ± 0.20 | 0 | 0.8 ± 0.20 |
| Additional collectionsa | ||||||||||
| A. horta | Lepidoptera | Nymphalidae | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.50 ± 0.50 | 0 | 0 | 0.50 ± 0.50 | |
| Borolia spp. | Lepidoptera | Noctuinae | 2 | – | 2 | 1 | 0.50 ± 0.50 | 0 | 0 | 0.50 ± 0.50 |
| C. florella | Lepidoptera | Pieridae | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. hylasb | Lepidoptera | Sphingidae | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| T. plagiata | Lepidoptera | Sphingidae | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| T. pylas | Lepidoptera | Sphingidae | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. capensis | Lepidoptera | Sphingidae | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Honeybees were the most abundant flower visitors and the majority of these insects bore pollinaria. A wide diversity of moths visited A. sericifera, but moths were less abundant than honeybees and generally carried lower numbers of pollinaria.
aAdditional collections refer to insects not collected during sampling times.
bDay-flying hawkmoth.