Nocturnal pollination of Parkia velutina by Megalopta bees in Amazonia and its possible significance in the evolution of chiropterophily.

Canopy observations of the rain forest tree Parkia velutina (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) in Amazonian Brazil indicate that it is pollinated by night-flying bees. The small red flowers are organized into spherical heads; they open in the late afternoon and attract Megalopta bees (Halictidae: Augochlorini) which forage for pollen after dark. In contrast to the numerous bat-pollinated species of Parkia, no nectar was detected. Nocturnal melittophily is proposed as a possible intermediate stage in the evolution of chiropterophily from diurnal entomophily in Parkia

Taxonomic novelties in Neotropical Chrysobalanaceae: towards a monophyletic Couepia.

FIGURE 7. Distribution of G. elata.Published as part of Sothers, Cynthia, Prance, Ghillean T., Buerki, Sven, Kok, Rogier De & Chase, Mark W., 2014, Taxonomic novelties in Neotropical Chrysobalanaceae: towards a monophyletic Couepia, pp. 176-200 in Phytotaxa 172 (2) on page 187, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.172.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/514250