Diurnal Activity Patterns of Elaeidobius Pollinators on Oil Palm Female Inflorescences in Côte d’Ivoire

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) production in Côte d’Ivoire depends on insect-mediated pollination by Elaeidobius weevils. From October 2011 to November 2013, we monitored 432 female inflorescences in three major production zones (La Mé, Grand Béréby, and Iboké). Each month, visits by E. kamerunicus, E. plagiatus, E. singularis, and E. subvittatus were recorded on the day of full anthesis during three discrete time periods (09:00–10:00, 11:00–12:00, and 16:00–17:00). Temperature and relative humidity were measured concurrently. Visitation peaked at 11:00 across sites, with abundance ~4-fold higher than at 09:00 and ~20-fold higher than at 16:00; mixed-model results indicated that this temporal pattern was consistent among sites (non-significant Site × Time interaction). E. subvittatus dominated visits to female inflorescences (71–74% of individuals), whereas E. kamerunicus showed lower visitation rates. Pollinator abundance was positively correlated with temperature (ρ = 0.18) and negatively correlated with relative humidity (ρ = −0.13), although these relationships were weak. These results identify late morning as a key activity period within the observation windows and suggest that adjusting field practices (e.g., insecticide timing) may reduce non-target impacts on pollinators.