Cave Nectar Bats visiting flowers of Musa ‘Cavendish’

An earlier post caught the Cave Nectar Bats (Eonycteris spelaea) visiting flowers of the banana plant (Musa ‘Raja’) at the stage when the inflorescence was putting forth male flowers LINK

This post documents the Cave Nectar Bat visiting the flowers of Musa ‘Cavendish’ during the nights of 28-29th December 2014.

The above video clip shows the inflorescence exposing its last hand of female flowers. Above this hand are the earlier hands of female flowers, now developing into fruits.

In the above video clip, the lowermost flowering hand represents the transition between the female and male flowers. Earlier hands are all developing into fruits. The lowermost hand, covered with a large reddish bract, has only a single female flower, seen in the foreground with a prominent green ovary (see also top image). Further inside, blocked by the single female flower, are all male flowers. Visiting bats concentrate on the inner male flowers with plentiful nectar.

Flowering hands found within the compact inflorescence bud are all male flowers.

YC Wee
Singapore
January 2015