Modern honeybees disrupt the pollination of an ancient gymnosperm, Gnetum luofuense

we conducted
field work and collected all data in a
natural population of G. luofuense in
Hainan Island. Our systematic honeybee censuses showed
that A. cerana was
absent before late April (no-bee
season) but present during late April to early May (bee-present season). Then, in bee-present season, we quantified
honeybee visitation rate, pollen loads on honeybees and pollen remaining in
anthers after honeybee visits to assess the intensity of theft. Lastly, we compared
pollen loads on pollinating moths, moth visitation rate and seed set between bee-present and no-bee seasons in
order to measure the effects of theft on pollen transfer success and
plant reproduction.