Plant-insect partnership in wetland ecosystems

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Nakaikemi marsh, located in Fukui Prefecture, is one of only a few natural lowland marshlands left in western Japan, and harbors many endangered marsh plants and animals. Flowering phenology and anthophilous insect communities on 64 plant species of 35 families were studied in the marsh in 1994-95. A total of 936 individuals of 215 species in eight orders of Insecta were collected on flowers from mid April to mid October. The anthophilous insect community was characterized by dominance of Diptera (58% of individuals) and relative paucity of Hymenoptera (26%), Hemiptera (6%), Lepidoptera (5%), and Coleoptera (5%). Syrphidae was the most abundant family and probably the most important pollination agents. Bee community was characterized by dominance of an abovegroud nesting bee genus, Hylaeus (Colletidae), the most abundant species of which was a minute, rare little-recorded species. Nakaikemi marsh is regarded as a rare, important wetland habitat not only harboring many endangered plant and anthophilous insect species but also fostering unique insect-flower relationships. The presence of some plant species originally pollinated by bumblebees nesting at forest floor suggests that the marshland should be conserved as a whole ecosystem uniting the marshland and the neighboring woodlands.Plant-insect interactions were studied also in various types of wetlands, e.g., salt marshes, tidal flats and mangroves in Japan.