Visitantes florais da Dombeya wallichii (Malvaceae)

The Dombeya wallichii (Lindl.) K. Schum presents a perennial growth pattern with period of flowering in the fall/winter period and peak between the months of June/July. The pink flowers appear in inflorescences, offering nectar and pollen as reward for the visitors. The general objective os this study was to record the diversity, abundance and foraging rate of insect visitors. Observations were taken at 8:00 a.m., aa:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. A total of 1, 784 insects beloging to thirteen groups of flies, bees, beetles, ants, butterflies, crickets and spiders were collected from the Dombeya flowers. Apis mellifera, Scaptotrigona sp., Trigonas sp., Melíponas sp., Astylus variegatus and Cycloneda munda were the most abundant visitors. These insects use the flower for different activities such as floral resources, reproduction, shelter and predation. Due to the great wealth of floral visitors observed, the flower of Dombeya wallichii presents great potential as a bee plant, because it provides nutritional resources for the different species during the off-season.