Entomophilus pollination in pumpkins, Cucurbita mixta (Curcubitaceae) - DOI: 10.4025/actasciagron.v28i4.898

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the insect visitors in the male and female flowers of the pumpkin, Cucurbita mixta, in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in August, 2004. The insects in the flowers were counted from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., for 10 minutes, every hour, with three replications and in three different days. It was observed that the insect which most frequently visited the flowers was the Africanized honey bee, Apis mellifera. That bee visited flowers until 1:00 p.m. and preferred to collect nectar from the male flowers (68.4%), when compared to pollen from the male flowers (18.6%) and nectar from the female flowers (13.0%). The frequency of those bees in the flowers decreased in elapsing of the day. The relationship between male and female flowers was 3.2:1.