A Systematic Review on (Cactaceae; Opuntioideae) Flower-Visiting Insects in the World with Emphasis on Mexico: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation.

spp. are cacti with high ecological, economic and conservation interest in semiarid environments, particularly in Mexico. We conducted a systematic search of the existing peer-reviewed literature about the state of knowledge of pollination ecology on these plants. We documented the most studied species worldwide with an emphasis on Mexico. We found that only 15% of species described have been investigated so far, and studies were mainly focused on comprehension of the biology of a single species. Despite the economic and cultural importance of , there is a significant lack of knowledge about the flower-visiting insects and their taxonomic identity. We provide a checklist of the insect species associated with spp. Through a circular network, we visualize the complex flower-visiting insect relationship, and we detected a set of key species constituting the generalist core of the networks constructed. Since pollination is crucial for crop production, a better understanding of ecological interactions would inform management measures to strengthen biodiversity and agriculture sustainability as well as productivity in arid and marginal lands. Further research on pollination ecology is needed to improve the conservation status of the insects associated with species.