Heliconias are an important food source for forest
hummingbirds, especially the
hermits (Phathornithinae), some of which – such as the
rufous-breasted hermit (
Glaucis hirsuta) – also use the plant for nesting. The
Honduran white bat (
Ectophylla alba) also lives in tents it makes from heliconia leaves.
Bats Pollination Although
Heliconia are almost exclusively pollinated by hummingbirds, some bat pollination has been found to occur.
Heliconia solomonensis is pollinated by the macroglossine bat
Melonycteris woodfordi in the
Solomon Islands.
Heliconia solomonensis has green inflorescences and flowers that open at night, which is typical of bat pollinated plants. This bat is the only known nocturnal pollinator of
Heliconia solomonensis.
Habitat Many bats use
Heliconia leaves for shelter. The Honduran white bat,
Ectophylla alba, utilizes five species of
Heliconia to make diurnal tent-shaped roosts. The bat cuts the side veins of the leaf extending from the midrib, causing the leaf to fold like a tent. This structure provides the bat with shelter from rain, sun, and predators. In addition, the stems of the
Heliconia leaves are not strong enough to carry the weight of typical bat predators, so shaking of the leaf alerts roosting bats to presence of predators. The bats
Artibeus anderseni and
A. phaeotis form tents from the leaves of
Heliconia in the same manner as the Honduran white bat. The neotropical disk-winged bat,
Thyroptera tricolor, has suction disks on the wrists which allow it to cling to the smooth surfaces of the
Heliconia leaves. This bat roosts head-up in the rolled young leaves of
Heliconia plants.
Insects Heliconias provide shelter for a diverse range of insects within their young rolled leaves and water-filled floral bracts. Insects that inhabit the rolled leaves often feed upon the inner surfaces of the leaf, such as beetles of the family
Chrysomelidae. In bracts containing small amounts of water, fly larvae and beetles are the dominant inhabitants. In bracts with greater quantities of water the typical inhabitants are mosquito larva. Insects living in the bracts often feed on the bract tissue, nectar of the flower, flower parts, other insects, microorganisms, or detritus in the water contained in the bract (Siefert 1982). Almost all species of
Hispini beetles that use rolled leaves are obligate herbivores of plants of the order of
Zingiberales, which includes
Heliconia. These beetles live in and feed from the rolled leaf, the stems, the inflorescences, or the unfurled mature leaves of the
Heliconia plant. In addition, these beetles deposit their eggs on the leaf surface, petioles of immature leaves, or in the bracts of the
Heliconia. Furthermore, some wasp species such as
Polistes erythrocephalus build their nest on the protected underside of large leaves.
Hummingbirds Hummingbirds are the main pollinators of heliconia flowers in many locations. The concurrent diversification of hummingbird-pollinated taxa in the order Zingiberales and the hummingbird family (
Trochilidae: Phaethorninae) starting 18 million years ago supports the idea that these radiations have influenced one another through evolutionary time. At La Selva Research Station in
Costa Rica, specific species of
Heliconia were found to have specific hummingbird pollinators. These hummingbirds can be organized into two different groups: hermits and non-hermits. Hermits are the subfamily
Phaethornithinae, consisting of the genera
Anopetia, Eutoxeres, Glaucis, Phaethornis, Ramphodon, and
Threnetes. Non-hermits are a catch-all group of other hummingbirds that often visit heliconias, comprising several
clades (McGuire 2008). Hermits are generally traplining foragers; that is, individuals visit a repeated circuit of high-reward flowers instead of holding fixed territories Non-hermits are territorial over their
Heliconia clumps, causing greater self-pollination. Characteristics of
Heliconia flowers that select for either hermit or non-hermit pollinator specificity are degree of self-compatibility, flowering
phenology, nectar production, color, and shape of flower. Hummingbird visits to the
Heliconia flower do not affect its production of nectar. This may account for the flowers not having a consistent amount of nectar produced from flower to flower. Different
Heliconia species have different flowering seasons. This suggests that the species compete for pollinators. Many species of
Heliconia, even the newly colonized species, are visited by many different pollinators. == Cultivation ==