Matutinal

Matutinal is a term used in the life sciences to describe an organism that is only or primarily active in the pre-dawn hours or early morning. The variant term matinal is used only in entomology, often used in literature on the natural history and ecology of bees. There are numerous genera and species of bees that exhibit this behavior, it is presumed to escape from competition for resources, and many flowers (such as the aptly named morning glory) have adapted to this particular pollination syndrome. The etymology of the term is the Latin word mātūtīnus, "of or pertaining to the morning" (from Mātūta, Roman goddess of the dawn + -īnus, "-ine") + -ālis, "-al".

See also

• Crepuscular
• Crypsis
• Vespertine (biology)