1. Proper management of wild pollinators of agricultural crops requires identification of effective pollinator species. Although non-bee pollinators are gaining increasing attention, small ground-dwelling insects such as ants are often deemed ineffective. However, our previous study found a positive correlation between ant visitations to flowers and seed set in the distylous crop common buckwheat, suggesting a potential role of ants as effective pollinators.
2. In this study, we aimed to confirm the effectiveness of ant pollination by conducting ant-exclusion experiments in the field. In addition, as evidence that ants can transfer pollen, we also counted the number of pollen grains attached to the body surface of two abundant flower-visiting ant species, Formica japonica and Camponotus japonicus.
3. Under the ant-exclusion treatment, the buckwheat plants showed a significant reduction (30% on average) in seed set compared with control plants, and this effect was consistent across both flower morphs (pin and thrum) and two seasons (summer and autumn). Moreover, pollen grains of each flower morph were found on both ant species visiting both types of flower, suggesting a potential contribution to seed set in buckwheat.
4. The results of this study suggest that ants may be an underappreciated pollinator of common buckwheat.

中文翻译：

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蚂蚁是普通荞麦 Fagopyrum esculentum 的有效传粉者

1. 正确管理农作物的野生授粉媒介需要确定有效的授粉媒介物种。尽管非蜜蜂传粉者越来越受到关注，但蚂蚁等小型地面昆虫通常被认为是无效的。然而，我们之前的研究发现蚂蚁对花朵的访问与荞麦中的种子结成正相关，这表明蚂蚁作为有效传粉媒介的潜在作用。
2. 在这项研究中，我们旨在通过在野外进行蚂蚁排斥实验来确认蚂蚁授粉的有效性。此外，作为蚂蚁可以传递花粉的证据，我们还统计了两种丰富的访花蚂蚁——Formica japonica和Camponotus japonicus体表附着的花粉粒数量。
3. 在蚂蚁排斥处理下，与对照植物相比，荞麦植物的结实率显着降低（平均 30%），并且这种效果在花形（针和穗）和两个季节（夏季和秋季）中是一致的. 此外，在访问这两种花的两种蚂蚁中都发现了每种花的花粉粒，这表明对荞麦的种子结实有潜在的贡献。
4. 这项研究的结果表明，蚂蚁可能是一种被低估的普通荞麦传粉者。