Composition and diversity of flower-visiting insects of 10 invasive herbaceous plants in Fuzhou

The reproductive characteristics of invasive plants are crucial determinants of their successful invasion, and the flower-visiting behavior of insects affects the reproductive success rate of plants. In order to explore the invasion mechanism of invasive plants in terms of reproduction, flower-visiting insects of 10 invasive plants in Fuzhou were observed from March to November 2022. The species, quantity, visitation frequency and residence time of flower-visiting insects were recorded, and the species diversity indices of flower-visiting insect communities were calculated, a plant-insect visitor network was constructed as well. The results showed that (1) the 10 invasive plants attracted a total of 66 species of flower-visiting insects from 6 orders, 34 families, among which Diptera had a high species diversity and longest residence time, while Hymenoptera visited flowers with the highest frequency and the most frequent visits. (2) The plant-insect visitor network revealed that there was a strong mutual dependence between certain invasive plants and flower-visiting insects, and there was an obvious nested structure indicating network stability. (3) The results further indicated that invasive plants could obtain a variety of flower-visiting insect resources in the invasion area and establish a relatively stable interaction relationship. The interaction between plants and flower-visiting insects is one of the invasion mechanisms of alien plants. To prevent further invasions by invasive alien plants by local pollination resources, we recommend removing plants before flowering.