Search

Crops that offer multiple types of value, for example, in terms of economy, culture, and health, frequently lack information on the basic ecological interactions that play a significant role in their persistence. Chayote (Sechium edule, Cucurbitaceae), a widespread squash valued for its nutritious fruit, is one example. We aimed at describing the assemblage of flower visitors to this crop at 2400 m where stingless bees, reported as the main pollinators, are naturally absent. We implemented flower exclusions, performed field observations, and inspection of pollen loads of captured visitors to be able to draw distinctions between primary and secondary pollinators. We recorded a total of 60 species or morphospecies of insects visiting the flowers. Bees, wasps, and flies, present in all sites and consistently carrying abundant pollen, are the main pollinators of S. edule at high altitudes. Our study adds to the building evidence of the fundamental role that native bees and wasps play as crop pollinators in subsistence farming. Basic ecological knowledge is essential to inform agricultural management policies and to foresee preventable food scarcity problems, especially in view of climate change scenarios that predict drastic alterations in plant geographical distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]