國立自然科學博物館

穗花棋盤腳的花朵在晚間盛開，白色帶粉紅特別醒目，同時綻放出濃郁的氣味吸引授粉者。隔天清晨凋謝，結束燦爛又短暫的一生，因此又被稱作「夏夜的煙火」。一隻大型的蝦殼天蛾懸停在花朵的前方，伸出比身體還長的口器，深入花朵的蜜腺吸取花蜜，口器上黏附了許多雄蕊的花粉，屬於有效攜帶花粉授粉的昆蟲。

The powder puff tree (Barringtonia racemosa) blooms at night. Its white and pink flowers are eye-catching and emit a strong scent to attract pollinators. In the morning, they wither, ending their bright and short life. That is why locals call them “summer night fireworks.” A large convolvulus hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli) hovers in front of one of these blossoms, extending its mouthparts, which are longer than its body, to penetrate its nectary and obtain nectar. Onto its mouthparts adhere pollen from many stamens, making this an effective insect pollinator.

沈競辰-蝦殼天蛾吸食穗花棋盤腳花蜜1