Flower visiting insects of Melastoma in Taiwan

We investigated the diversity and behaviors of flower visiting insects to all four native species of genus Melastoma (Family Melastomataceae) at the Fushan Botanical Garden in Taiwan biweekly from May to August 2020. Insect-flower interactions were assigned into three categories based on the insect’s behaviors observed in the field. The aim of the project was to provide baseline data of pollinator-plant interactions between the endangered M. intermedia and sympatric Melastoma species. Such information is useful in generating conservation and management actions as interspecific hybridization has been reported from both wild and cultivated populations in this genus.