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 matutinus, "of or pertaining to the morning" (from
Matuta, Roman goddess of the dawn + -inus, "-ine") + -alis, "-al".