THE POLLINATION ECOLOGY OF DELPHINIUM TRICORNE (RANUNCUL ACEAE)

The pollination ecology of Delphinium tricorne, a spring-ephemeral herb of eastern deciduous forests, was studied at eight sites in the Ohio River basin from West Virginia to southern Illinois. The plant was found to be obligately dependent for its pollination on queen bumblebees (Bombus Latr. spp.) and hummingbirds, to which the flowers are closely adapted in form, color, function, and blooming phenology. Other bees, including Anthophora ursina, Osmia bucephala, Ptilothrix bombiformis, and Xylocopa virginica; Lepidoptera, including Amphion nessus, Danaus plexippus, Epargyreus clams, Erynnis juvenalis, Hemaris thysbe, Papilio glaucus, P. philenor, P. troilus, Poanes zabulon, Vanessa atalanta, and V. cardui; and the beefly Bombylius major foraged for nectar and/or pollen on the flowers without pollinating them. Techniques employed in the study included insect exclosures to test fertility of plants in the absence of pollinators, analysis of floral colors by reflectance spectrophotometry and ultraviolet photography, analysis of pollinator behavior by cinematography and close-range stereophotography, collection and identification of visitors to flowers, and identification of pollen types carried by foragers on the flowers.