Aguilar et al. 2014 (Article) Bromeliaceae

The Secrets of Night-Blooming Bromeliads and Bats

Author(s):—P.A. Aguilar-Rodríguez

Publication:—Journal of the Bromeliad Society 64(3): 156-165. (2014)

Abstract:—Unlike working with plant species that open their flowers during the day, studying night-blooming bromeliads requires extensive field work under poor visibility conditions. The nocturnal (“night-shift”) pollinators, including bats and moths, are very different in behavior and biology in comparison to their diurnal (“day-shift”) counterparts, such as hummingbirds and bees (i.e., different physiological needs, attraction to different floral traits, duration of visits; Willmer 2011). Furthermore, the need for special equipment to record nocturnal pollination may explain why night-blooming bromeliads are less studied than the day-blooming species.

Keywords:—Bats, Polination