Pollination efficiencies of flower-visiting insects as determined by direct genetic analysis of pollen origin

The amount and genetic composition of pollen grains that are transported to flowers influence the reproduction and fitness of plants. Despite the importance of insect-pollination systems, an understanding of those systems is still lacking due to the absence of a genetic analysis of pollen grains that are transported to flowers. We evaluated the pollination efficiencies of bumblebees (Apidae, Bombus spp.), flower beetles (Scarabaeidae, subfamily Cetoniinae, Protaetia and Eucetonia sp.), and small beetles (Lagriidae, Arthromacra sp.) that visited the flowers of Magnolia obovata (Magnoliaceae) using quantitative (flower visitation frequency, amount of adherent pollen per insect) and qualitative (origin and genetic diversity of adherent pollen per insect) criteria. Most of the pollen adhering to bumblebees and small beetles was self-pollen. This result suggests that visitation by these insects may cause geitonogamous pollen flow and negatively affect the reproduction of M. obovata, causing inbreeding depression. In contrast, flower beetles transported large amounts of genetically diverse outcross pollen. Our results suggest that certain beetle species contribute quantitatively and qualitatively to the pollination of M. obovata. Direct genetic analysis of pollen grains will advance our understanding of plant mating systems and may shed light on the mutualism and coevolution of plants and flower visitors.