Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Heliconia solomonensis is pollinated by the macroglosine bat (Melonycteris woodfordi) in the Solomon Islands. Heliconia solomonensis has green inflorescences and flowers that open at night, which is typical of bat pollinated plants. The macroglosine bat is the only known nocturnal pollinator of Heliconia solomonensis. [15]
This plant has evolved bowl shaped leaves which act as reflectors for a bat's biosonar. [5] This helps the bats to find the plants with greater ease and hence pollinate them with more frequency. The shape of the leaves also helps to guide the bats in locating the hidden feeders. [6]
Plants are dioecious, either male or female, and only rarely hermaphrodites. [11] They flower between February and May [5] and are primarily pollinated by the native short-tailed bat. [12] Male flowers produce nectar that provides a simple but very sweet fragrance which promotes bat-pollination. [13]
Chiropterophily or bat pollination is the pollination of flowering plants by bats. Plants adapted to use bats or moths as pollinators typically have white petals, strong scent and flower at night, whereas plants that use birds as pollinators tend to produce copious nectar and have red petals. [25]
In addition to pollinating these plants, the cave nectar bat is an important pollinator for major crops, including up to 55 species of plants. Their tendencies to pollinate certain plants is determined by the proximity of their living quarters. There are at least thirteen plant taxa that the cave nectar bat feeds upon. The dependence on the ...
Pteropus (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, East Africa, and some oceanic islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. [3]
[166] [167] Nectar feeding also aids a variety of plants, since these bats serve as pollinators, as pollen gets attached to their fur while they are feeding. Around 500 species of flowering plant rely on bat pollination and thus tend to open their flowers at night. [163] Many rainforest plants depend on bat pollination. [168]
This bat is a generalist, eating a wide variety of fruits that are characterized by being high in protein and low in fiber. [3] During times when fruit isn't plentiful, these bats supplement their diets using nectar and pollen from flowers, which also opens up the possibility for them being pollinators for the flowers they eat. [3]