Assemblage of flower visitors to Dillenia suffruticosa and possible negative effects of disturbances in Sarawak, Malaysia

Dillenia suffruticosa (Dilleniaceae), a common pioneer shrub in Southeast Asia, is broadly distributed along roadsides. This species flowers throughout the year and is thought to be a keystone species for maintaining populations of flower visitors. To examine the flower visitors of this species, we conducted field surveys and described the behaviors of each flower visitor species within four different research sites: Primary Forests 1 and 2, Secondary Forest, and Mixed Vegetation. We caught 1087 individuals belonging to 51 species from 11 insect families and one species of arachnid. Most flower visitors belonged to Hymenoptera (98.6% of individuals); Trigona spp. and Xylocopa spp. (Apidae) accounted for 64.0% and 20.0%, respectively, of all caught individuals. According to observations of behavior by each species, effective pollinators may include Xylocopa spp. and Amegilla spp. (Apidae). We compared the research results among four research sites and found that the effective pollinators were not different among sites. However, the number of species and the abundances of flower visitors decreased in disturbed areas, especially in Secondary Forest. This research suggests the effects of human disturbances on the diversity and abundance of flower visitors.