Insect pollination in the New Zealand mountain flora

Abstract A wide variety of lepidopterans, bees, flies, and beetles visit the flowers of most species of New Zealand montane plants. Of the 82 plant Species which were well-collected, 4 species (Pterostylis sp., Pratia macrodon, Mazus radicans, and Dracophyllum acerosum) exhibited specialised pollination relationships with an insect order; 3 species (Cyathodes fraserii, Microris unifolia, and Thelymitra venosa) are not apparently visited by insects; and the remaining 7S species are visited by a variety of insects in 2 or more orders. Introduced plant species in the Composite family are visited predominantly by introduced bumblebees. Bees in the genera Lasioglossum and Leioproctus are abundant flower visitors. The most common lepidopteran flower visitors are in the families Noctuidae, Geometridae, and Pyralidae, and the genus Lycaena. Dipterans, in particular tachinids and syrphids, are numerically the most abundant flower visitors, and visit a wide range of species. The syrphid Melangyna novaezelandiae vis...