Nocturnal moths as potential pollinators of Marsdenia formosana (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae)

Asclepiad flowers transfer the pollinaria, including pollen masses, to diverse body parts of flower visitors in various ways. In this study, we observed the insects visiting the flowers of Marsdenia formosana (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) at a forest in Taiwan in early May, 2016. Nocturnal moths of ten species (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae, Crambidae, Geometridae, Erebidae, and Noctuidae) were observed visiting M. formosana flowers. A pollinarium was found attached to the proboscis' tip of a Bertula hadenalis persimilis (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) specimen. This suggests that nectar-seeking moths visit M. formosana flowers and involuntarily transfer the pollinaria on the tip of the proboscis.