[Syrphidae] males & pollen

[Francis Gilbert]

hi Emile

As far as I know, no-one has ever experimentally addressed the question of whether males need pollen to mature their gonads. I think Peter is the only person to have suggested it. It is a very reasonable suggestion, given that (a) most species are protandrous; and (b) in all spp where females take pollen, males do as well, but they are less often seen taking pollen than the females (Gilbert 1981 PhD thesis, p.129 & Table 7.1.2). From gut dissections, male Rhingia campestris contain more nectar and less pollen than females, but they clearly take pollen (Haslett 1989 Oecologia 81: 361). Unfortunately there is no ageing method similar to female ovary development to help with the timing of their pollen ingestion.

I am not sure there is much more than that in the literature.

Best wishes

Francis


Professor Francis Gilbert
Room B132 Life Sciences, University Park
University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
Tel 0115 951 3215
webpage: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg/<http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg/>

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