Subject: Fwd: RE: who pollinates Collinsia parviflora? From: Elizabeth Elle Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:42:04 -0700 To: brucem@SpiritOne.com Hi Bruce not sure if 'collinsia nut' is really fair :-) but I do, indeed, study pollination in the species. I've seen it in the gorge; up here it tends to vary more in flower size, which is why I'm interested. It's largely visited by small Osmia bees (common name is mason or orchard bee), and some other spring bees like Andrena (mining bees) and Lasioglossum (sweat bees). The larger-flowered forms, which look more like your C. grandiflora, are visited by these bees plus bumble bees. The tiny flowers on C. parviflora are also quite capable of self-pollinating, and don't rely on bees to do the job for them as much as the large-flowered forms and species do. I attached two papers. The ant photo is lovely, but the plant looks a bit like grandiflora to me (here in BC we talk about two subspecies, but in your area, it's more legitimately two 'real' species. I'm guessing, of course, as it's always hard to tell scale in photos). We've noticed that the plants have extra-floral nectaries on their leaves. Ants visit these for the nectar reward, and in the process protect the plant from herbivores. Not too many herbivorous insects attack Collinsia, and we haven't shown a fitness benefit yet to attracting ants, but it's a cool story. There is a photo of an ant under a leaf on my web page (the evolution of selfing link from my web page, basic link in my signature line). My guess is the ant isn't a major pollinator, as the little gal would need to push lots further into the flower to get at the nectar (the nectary is by the bend in the corolla), and the sex bits are in a folded keel below the two lower petals, and it takes a larger animal to get in there. The flower on the left has a small white mark on the lower petal--this is a 'bee kiss', a mark from the tarsae of the bee, made when the bee pushes the lower petals out and down to open up the keel and access the pollen. Cheers! Elizabeth > X-Spam-Level: Spam-Level > X-ASG-Debug-ID: 1176741946-57af01230000-cSmaZb > X-Barracuda-URL: http://barracuda.sfu.ca:8000/cgi-bin/mark.cgi > X-Barracuda-Connect: leaf.itsd.gov.bc.ca[142.32.11.118] > X-Barracuda-Start-Time: 1176741946 > X-ASG-Orig-Subj: RE: who pollinates Collinsia parviflora? > Subject: RE: who pollinates Collinsia parviflora? > Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:45:43 -0700 > X-MS-Has-Attach: > X-MS-TNEF-Correlator: > Thread-Topic: who pollinates Collinsia parviflora? > Thread-Index: Acd/v3yJx6M9nWnVQQauiYSOPZhUlwAg0waA > From: "MacKinnon, Andy FOR:EX" > To: "Bruce G. Marcot" > Cc: "Elizabeth Elle" > X-OriginalArrivalTime: 16 Apr 2007 16:45:46.0693 (UTC) FILETIME=[AE7E5750:01C78046] > X-Barracuda-Virus-Scanned: by Barracuda Spam Firewall at sfu.ca > X-Barracuda-Spam-Score: 0.00 > X-Barracuda-Spam-Status: No, SCORE=0.00 using global scores of TAG_LEVEL=3.5 QUARANTINE_LEVEL=1000.0 KILL_LEVEL=9.0 tests=HTML_MESSAGE > X-Barracuda-Spam-Report: Code version 3.1, rules version 3.1.14373 > Rule breakdown below > pts rule name description > ---- ---------------------- -------------------------------------------------- > 0.00 HTML_MESSAGE BODY: HTML included in message > X-Virus-Scanned: by antibody.sfu.ca running antivirus scanner > > Hello, Bruce. Elizabeth Elle at Simon Fraser University (cc'd on this e-mail) is a Collinsia NUT who's also obsessed with pollination. I bet she'll know the answer to your question. > > Elizabeth, I ran into my Melissa Jackson (rainforest course 2006, along with Liz Fairhurst and Eileen Jones) and _______ at Mill Hill Park yesterday. I was picnicking, they were chasing bees. We should talk about the Coastal Douglas-Fir biogeoclimatic zone some day soon. > > > > > Andy MacKinnon > Research Ecologist > Coast Forest Region > e-mail: andy.mackinnon@gov.bc.ca > address (Nanaimo): 2100 Labieux Rd., Nanaimo, BC V9T 6E9 > address (Victoria): 722 Johnson St., Victoria, BC V8W 1N1 > phone (Nanaimo): TBA > phone (Victoria): (250-) 387-3976 > cell: (250-) 213-8281 > www.for.gov.bc.ca/rco/research/index.htm > > > From: Bruce G. Marcot [ mailto:brucem@SpiritOne.com] > Sent: Sun, April 15, 2007 5:38 PM > To: MacKinnon, Andy FOR:EX > Subject: who pollinates Collinsia parviflora? > Hi Andy, > I've checked your No. BC and Coastal BC plant tomes, but I can't find any info on what are the pollinators for Collinsia parviflora? > I've also scoured the web for answers, but have found nothing. > Any idea on this?? > A photo (attached) I took up the Columbia River Gorge, east of the Cascades Crest, shows an unidentified ant on a C.p. flower ... a potential pollinator perchance? > - b > > -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- > > > Bruce G. Marcot, Ph.D. Research Wildlife Ecologist > > > > brucem@SpiritOne.com > > > -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- > > > Ecology Picture of the Week: > > > > > http://www.taos-telecommunity.org/epow/ > > > The Plexus -- Where Disciplines Collide: > > > > > http://www.spiritone.com/~brucem > > > -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- > > > ** personal correspondence ** *************************************************** Dr. Elizabeth Elle Associate Professor and Associate Chair Department of Biological Sciences Simon Fraser University 8888 University Drive Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6 CANADA 604-291-4592 (office) or -3304 (lab) FAX: 604-291-3496 http://www.sfu.ca/biology/faculty/elle/ *************************************************** Elle_Carney_2003.pdf Content-Type: application/pdf Content-Encoding: base64 Parachnowitsch_Elle_2006.pdf Content-Type: application/pdf Content-Encoding: base64