POLLINATION BY DECEIT IN NUTMEG (MYRISTICA-INSIPIDA, MYRISTICACEAE) -FLORAL DISPLAYS AND BEETLE ACTIVITY AT MALE AND FEMALE TREES

Pollination by deceit in Myristica insipida, a beetle-pollinated nutme g, was hypothesized to operate on intersexual differences in Bower pro duction and longevity, producing a daily fluctuation between floral di splay maxima and minima. Sticky traps were used to continuously monito r beetle activity. Flower production and naturally occurring intersexu al differences in display were recorded. Male and female trees flowere d in synchrony producing. daily display maxima at 1800-0600 and displa y minima at 1400-1800. Rewarding male trees produced three times the n umber of flowers of female trees, but the er longevity of female flowe rs reduced the intersexual difference in display maxima to a factor of two. There was no intersexual difference in display minima. Beetles w ere demonstrated to be sensitive to differences in both maximum and mi nimum displays on rewarding male trees, a necessary prerequisite for d irectional selection on display size. Beetle captures were significant ly higher at male trees during floral display maxima, and no intersexu al differences in capture rate occurred during floral display minima. However, capture rates at male trees did not decline as predicted, and the pattern of captures was consistent with crepuscular activity. Bee tle captures at male and female trees were lower from 1800 to 0600 and 1000 to 1400, and higher from 0600 to 1000 and 1400 to 1800, but the differences were only significant at female trees. These data suggests that foraging errors are numerous, frequent, and the result of overal l foraging activity.