Color preferences of flower visitors in ‘El Impenetrable’ National Park, Chaco, Argentina

Introduction: Flower color is an essential characteristic for attracting pollinators, as many of them exhibit innate preferences for certain colors. These preferences vary according to geographical environments, where the most commonly highlighted colors include violet, yellow, white, blue, and orange. This research aims to address the following question: what are the color preferences of different floral visitors in one of Argentina's most important national parks? Methods: Various orders of insects were collected using 80 pan traps of blue, white, red, and yellow colors. The samples were transported to the laboratory for identification and classification. Results: Nine orders of insects were identified, with Hymenoptera and Diptera being the most abundant. The colors yellow and white were found to be the most attractive for different groups of insects. Specifically, yellow primarily attracted bees and dipterans, while white was more attractive to bees and wasps. On the other hand, red and blue were not effective in attracting insects in the study area. Conclusion: The different groups of insects showed clear preferences for certain colors of the traps, reflecting their behavior in relation to the flowers they visit. This study used colored traps for the first time in this National Park and demonstrated that they are an effective sampling method for recording the color preferences of flower visitors. These contributions help us to understand plant--pollinator interactions in this ecosystem, providing information that can be used for conservation strategies and habitat management.