The Pollination Ecology of Aquilegia Elegantula and A. Caerulea (Ranunculaceae) in Colorado

Abstract

Aquilegia elegantula Greene and A. caerulea James occur in montane and subalpine habitats in the southern Rocky Mountains of western North America. The red and yellow flowers of A. elegantula are nodding, odorless, protogynous, and secrete a concentrated (44%) sucrose nectar in the floral spurs. Seed set in flowers under pollinator exclosures was 12% while seed set in open-pollinated flowers was 65%. The flowers of A. elegantula are pollinated primarily by the Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus [Swainson]) and by at least three species of pollen-foraging bumblebees, of which Bombus occidentalis Greene is the most common. The blue and white flowers of A. caerulea are erect, mildly fragrant, protandrous, and secrete a 26% sucrose nectar. Seed set in caged flowers in the field averaged 39%. in uncaged flowers 54%. The most important pollinators of A. caerulea are the crepuscular hawkmoth, Hyles (=Celerio) lineata (Fabricius) and ten species of pollen-foraging Bombus. The most abundant bumblebee species, B. occidentalis, is also a frequent nectar thief. Differences in pollination systems alone probably do not constitute an effective anti-hydridization mechanism between A. elegantula and A. caerulea, but do serve to reinforce differences in habitat and flowering time that distinguish the two species.