Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Flower-Visiting Insects in Coffee Crops.

Abstract

Despite the important role that flower-visiting insects play in agricultural production, none of the previous studies of coffee pollinators in Colombia have incorporated functional diversity into their analysis. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the abundance, richness, and functional diversity of insects that visit flowers in coffee crops. Twenty-eight plots were selected among five sites in the north, center, and south of Colombia. In each plot, coffee flower insect visitors were collected and recorded on 90 trees at eight-minute intervals per tree, at three different times over three days. All sampling was carried out during two flowering events per year, over three years, resulting in a total of 1240 h of observations. Subsequently, the insects were taxonomically identified, and the number of individuals and species, as well as the diversity of the order q, were estimated. Functional diversity was also characterized in the bee community. The results: (a) 23,735 individuals belonging to 566 species were recorded; of them, 90 were bees, with the native species being the most abundant during 10:30 and 13:00 h; (b) bees formed five functional groups, with corbiculate and long-tongued non-corbiculate bees being the most abundant and occupying the largest regions of functional space; (c) potential pollinators in coffee crops are Apis mellifera, Nannotrigona gaboi, Tetragonisca angustula, Geotrigona cf. tellurica, and Partamona cf. peckolti. Coffee crops host a wide diversity of flower visitors, especially bees, which could be beneficial for productivity and contribute to the maintenance of plant species that accompany coffee cultivation.