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 apparently only in
entomology, often used in literature on the
natural history and
ecology of
bees. There are numerous genera and species of bees which exhibit this behavior, presumably to escape from competition for resources, and many flowers (e.g.
squash and
morning glory) have adapted to this particular
pollination syndrome. (See also
crepuscular.)
The etymology of the term is the latin word matutinum tempus (time of the morning).