The topology of a plant-insect visitation network from the Hajar Mountains, Oman

Abstract

The Arabian Peninsula is a hotspot for bee diversity but studies looking at plant-insect interactions there remain rare. A network analysis of insects visiting wildflowers in the Hajar Mountains, Oman was made from the results of eight survey periods between 2016 and 2020. Centrality scores were used to assess the role different groups of potential pollinators play in network topology. A list of 113 insect species visiting 26 plant species has been compiled with Lepidopteran species acting as important connectors within the network. A nested, asymmetric and compartmentalised network was recorded. The order Hymenoptera was the most species rich group, with 46 species recorded followed by Diptera (43 spp.), Lepidoptera (13 spp.), and Coleoptera (11 spp.). Amegilla pyramidalis (Kirby, 1900) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Antho phorini) is recorded for the first time outside of the Socotra Archipelago. The study is the first specific effort to record the flower visitation behaviour of insects in Oman and gives an overview of the resulting visitation network.