A comparison of insect fruit utilization of Carissa (Carissa edulis Vahl) and Jasmine (Jasminum dichotomum Vahl) in a protected habitat

Abstract

Flowering plants and insects dominate the flora and fauna of earth's land surface and interactions between them are dominant elements of the terrestrial ecosystems. This study, determined the insect fruit utilizers of the plants Carissa and Jasmine. The study further compared the two plant species in terms of the diversity of insect fruit utilizers and their frequency of visits. Data was collected in the Amurum Forest Reserve, north central Nigeria, between June and July 2011 through video recordings to identify the insect species and their frequency and duration of visits on the two plants. A total of 322 individual insects spread across 20 species were recorded during the study. C. edulis had the highest diversity and abundance of insect species as compared to J. dichotomum. Thirteen insect species were observed exclusively on C. edulis while 3 insect species were exclusive to J. dichotomum. Insect species diversity and frequency of visits differed significantly between the two study plants in favour of C. edulis. The insect family Formicidae was the most common on both plant species. 99.7% of individuals were observed foraging on the fruits of the two plants while only one individual insect (i.e. 0.31%) exhibited perching behaviour.