Fig 1.
Map of study sites and experimental area.
Red circles represent the study sites.
Fig 2.
Reflectance spectra of different floral parts of R. alpina.
Table 1.
Floral traits (Mean ±SE) of R. alpina and their variation at three study sites.
Result analyzed by a one way ANOVA.
Fig 3.
A- Flowering individuals of R. alpina; B- A beetle (Mylabris sp.) feeding on the pollen grains of R. alpina; C- A beetle resting on the outer part of corolla with thousands of pollen grains attached throughout its body; D- A moth (Macroglossum nycteris) caught from a flower of R. alpina while visiting the flower for nectar feeding; E and F indicate the gradual shrinkage of style to allow self-pollination in R. alpina. The shrinkage of style occurs ca 2 mm to facilitate self-pollination. E- The position of stigma on the first day, and F- The position of stigma on the third day of flowering.
Fig 4.
Hourly variation (from 7:00 AM to 19:00 PM) in the abundance of a beetle (Mylabris sp.) to the flowers of R. alpina in 2015 and 2016 at three independent plots at Poonhill.
Fig 5.
Hourly variation (from 7:00 AM to 19:00 PM) in visitation frequency of a beetle (Mylabris sp.) to the flowers of R. alpina in 2015 and 2016 at three independent plots at Poonhill.
Fig 6.
Fruit set percentage and seed number per fruit among different pollination treatments in R. alpina.
Error bars represent the standard error of mean. Different lowercase letters above the bar represent the statistical difference at P<0.05. Asterisk marks in the bar diagram represent zero fruit and seed set. NP = Natural pollination; AS = Autonomous selfing; EB = emasculated- bagged (Apomixis); EO = Emasculated-open pollination; HS = hand self–pollination and HC = Hand cross pollination respectively.
Fig 7.
Pollination efficiency and potential importance of a beetle (Mylabris sp.) as a pollinator of R. alpina.
Error bars represent the standard error of mean. Different lowercase letters above the bar represent the statistical difference at P<0.05. Asterisk marks in the bar diagram represent zero fruit and seed set. BP = Pollination in emasculated-open flowers after a single visit of a beetle; EB = emasculated- bagged; AS = Autonomous selfing; NP = natural pollination. Emasculated flowers visited by the beetle set as many fruits and seeds as auto-selfed and naturally pollinated flowers while emasculated flowers refrained from beetle visit did not set fruit and seed. This indicates that if a beetle visits a flower, it can affect pollination in R. alpina as efficiently as autonomous selfing.