Construction, validation, and application of nocturnal pollen transport networks in an agro‐ecosystem: a comparison using light microscopy and DNA metabarcoding

摘要: 1. Moths are globally relevant as pollinators but nocturnal pollination remains poorly understood. Plant–pollinator interaction networks traditionally constructed using either flower‐visitor observations or pollen‐transport detection microscopy. Recent studies have shown the potential of DNA metabarcoding for detecting and identifying interactions. However, no study has directly compared realised between conventional light microscopy. 2. Using matched samples moths, we two methods: microscopy metabarcoding. Focussing on feeding mouthparts developed provide reproducible methods merging ecological network analysis to better understand species interactions. 3. detected pollen more individual multiple types individuals than microscopy, although average number per was unchanged. after aggregating each species, interactions moth species. Pollen‐transport metrics differed because variation in ability detect separate morphologically similar related pollen. We unexpected plausible moth–plant with metabarcoding, revealing new detail about systems. 4. The observed were yet distinct, implications ecologists. Comparisons traditional should therefore be treated caution. Nevertheless, applications studying plant–pollinator encouraging, especially when investigating understudied such moths.