Insects Inhabiting Two Host Plants, Heliconia stricta Huber (Heliconiaceae) and Calathea lutea Schult (Marantaceae), in Southeastern Peru

• Published in: Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society Vol. 87; no. 3; pp. 299 - 311
• Main Authors: Jalinsky, Joseph R., Wertenberger, Riley A., Radocy, Thomas A., Chaboo, Caroline S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 810 East 10th St.,P.O. Box 1897, Lawerence, KS, 66044-8897 The Kansas Entomological Society 01.07.2014
• Subjects: Calathea lutea; flowers; habitats; Heliconia; Heliconiaceae; Insect-plant interactions; leaf roll; Marantaceae; phytotelmata; Research s; Stricta; Zingiberales; Peru; USA, Kansas
• ISSN: 0022-8567; 1937-2353
• DOI: 10.2317/JKES130816.1

Phytolelma are pools of water impounded by living terrestrial plants or fallen leaves and seeds, supporting a mini-ecosystem dominated by insects. We surveyed insect communities of floral and leaf phytotelmata of two Zingiberales plants, Heliconia stricta Huber (Heliconiaceae) and Calathea lutea Schult (Marantaceae), in lowland Amazonian rainforest, Peru. We provide a pictorial guide to the adults of 29 morphospecies in 5 orders of insects we found in these phytotelma. Our findings suggest that leaf rolls in Zingiberales plants satisfy the definition of phytotelmata because they retain rainwater and debris and support a community with aquatic, subaquatic and terrestrial insects. The leaf roll community is dominated by chrysomelid and ptiliid beetles; some taxa (weevils) appear to prefer one host plant. The floral fauna is dominated by immature insects and exhibited less taxonomic diversity. Differences in these communities may be due to water quantity, quality (debris), chemistry (from plant secretions and microbes), and seasonality.