Month: September 2022

VISUAL AND OLFACTORY CUES. "The orchid Ophrys sphegodes Miller is pollinated by sexually excited males of the solitary bee Andrena nigroaenea, which are lured to the flowers by visual cues and volatile semiochemicals." https://lnkd.in/dnjRu_H View in LinkedIn

COMPLEX BOQUET. "We identified more than 100 compounds in the odor bouquets of labellum extracts from O. sphegodes; 24 compounds were found to be biologically active in male olfactory receptors...analyses of odors from individual flowers showed less intraspecific variation in the odor bouquets of the biologically active compounds as compared to nonactive compounds." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0014-3820.2000.tb01243.x/abstract View in LinkedIn

Trump administration lifts ban on pesticides linked to declining bee numbers. Unfathomable. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/04/trump-administration-lifts-ban-on-pesticides-linked-to-declining-bee-numbers?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other View in LinkedIn

FAKE SEX PHEROMONE. "The “sexually deceptive” orchid Chiloglottis trapeziformis attracts males of its pollinator species, the thynnine wasp Neozeleboria cryptoides, by emitting a unique volatile compound, 2-ethyl-5-propylcyclohexan-1,3-dione, which is also produced by female wasps as a male-attracting sex pheromone." https://lnkd.in/d3KgzuJ View in LinkedIn

SCENTED HONEY POT. "Growing evidence suggests that floral volatiles can play an important role in specific pollinator attraction, thus mediating floral isolation. In European sexually deceptive orchids of the genus Ophrys, well known for their highly specific pollinator attraction, floral chemistry is known to be the primary mechanism for maintaining pollinator attraction and floral isolation." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03308.x/full View in LinkedIn

FOOD FORAGING BEHAVIOR. "Food frauds...are species that exploit the pollen-, oil-, or nectar-foraging activities of their pollinators." Bait-and-switch. https://lnkd.in/db9X2SK View in LinkedIn

REFLECTED LIGHT CUES. "In some food deceptive orchids, similarities in the spectral reflectance visible to the pollinator in a model plant and its mimic, and increased reproductive success of the mimic in the presence of the model have been demonstrated." https://lnkd.in/dQxZZsA View in LinkedIn

HIGH CUE VARIABILITY. "Deceptive orchids often show high variability in floral signals, which may be maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection, since pollinators can learn and subsequently avoid common deceptive morphs more quickly than rare ones. The evolution of obligate deception in orchids seems paradoxical in the light of the typically lower fruit set than in rewarding species." http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-005-0636-y View in LinkedIn

COLOR MIMICRY. "Over long distances, sexually deceptive orchids lure pollinators with counterfeit insect sex pheromones, but close-range deception with colour mimicry is a tantalising possibility. Despite appearing different to humans, the colours of the orchids and female wasps were effectively identical when mapped into a hymenopteran hexagonal colour space." http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-009-0611-0 View in LinkedIn

WAVELENGTH MIMICRY. "The orchids and wasps reflected predominantly red-orange wavelengths, but UV was also reflected by raised bumps on two orchid species and by female wasp wings. The orchids’ bright yellow pollinia contrasted significantly with their overall red colour. Orchid deception may therefore involve accurate and species-specific mimicry of wavelengths reflected by female wasps, and potentially, exploitation of insects’ innate attraction to UV and yellow wavelengths." http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-009-0611-0 View in LinkedIn