Arthropod Interactions with Xyris Flowers Discovered through Community Photography

Yellow-eyed grasses (Xyris spp.) are flower-producing monocots found in seasonally or permanently wet habitats. Historically, they have been thought to be wind pollinated. However, recent research in North and South America has documented a number of insects pollinators, florivores, and other associates that visit Xyris flowers. We conducted a survey of Xyris flowers posted to the citizen science websites iNaturalist and BugGuide to assess whether Xyris flowers are visited by insects across their worldwide range. We found records of insect-flower interactions from all continents where Xyris occur and documented 29 arthropod taxa that had not previously been associated with yellow-eyed grasses.