Anonaceous, in general, are cantharophilous highly specialized, presenting thick, fleshy and nutritious petals forming a floral chamber with thermogenese occurrence. This study aimed to verify the effective pollinators and prevalent breeding system in A. coriacea. Flowers were marked and accompanied during day and night periods to verify legitimate pollinators. Treatments of hand pollination were done to determine the breeding system. Scarab beetles Cyclocephala atricapilla and Cyclocephala quatuordecimpunctata (Dynastinae) were attracted by the scent exhaled by flowers in the beginning of the night already containing pollen on their bodies and penetrated into floral chamber, where stayed until 48 h feeding on the petals and shed pollen, copulating and when they touched the receptive stigmas, deposited pollen. Afterwards, flower in male phase released pollen that once more got the beetle bodies dirty and with the flower fall they flied to new-open flower and in female phase starting new pollination cycle. A. coriacea is a self-compatible species and Cyclocephala were considered very efficient pollinators.
Annona coriacea; beetle pollination; Cerrado; Cyclocephala; Self-compatibility
