| Title: | Cypripedium subtropicum (Orchidaceae) employs aphid colony mimicry to attract hoverfly (Syrphidae) pollinators |
| Author(s): | Jiang H; Kong JJ; Chen HC; Xiang ZY; Zhang WP; Han ZD; Liao PC; Lee YI; |
| Address: | "Yunnan Laboratory for Conservation of Rare, Endangered & Endemic Forest Plants, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China. Department of Cosmeceutics, China Medical University, Taichung, 40453, Taiwan. Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, 116, Taipei, Taiwan. Department of Biology, National Museum of Natural Science, 40453, Taichung, Taiwan. Department of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, 40227, Taichung, Taiwan" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1469-8137 (Electronic) 0028-646X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "In Orchidaceae, pollination is mostly animal-mediated, and one-third of species have evolved a deceptive pollination mechanism without rewards. Cypripedium is a representative lineage of nonrewarding orchids restricted to temperate regions. Cypripedium subtropicum flowers are pollinated by hoverflies and have hairy tufts that visually resemble an aphid colony covered with honey dew. We recorded the behavior of hoverflies on the flowers, determined the breeding system of the species and the structure of hairy tufts, and investigated the roles of hairy tufts and floral volatiles in this specialized pollination by using pollination experiments, scanning electron microscopy, bioassays and chemical analyses. The white hairy tufts covering the sidelobes of the labellum provide edible rewards and serve as crucial visual lures for hoverflies. The flowers emit primarily (E)-beta-farnesene and a smaller amount of beta-pinene that were found to attract hoverflies. Our results suggest that C. subtropicum uses both visual mimicry of an aphid-colonized labellum with a reward and chemical mimicry of aphid alarm pheromones to attract hoverflies for pollination. This is the first described example of a rewarding mimicry system in plants, where the models are animals with their secretions and the reward is similar in nutrients to that of the model mimicked" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Aphids Flowers *Orchidaceae Plant Breeding Pollination Cypripedium Syrphidae aphid mimicry pheromones pollinator specialization; |
| Notes: | "MedlineJiang, Hong Kong, Ji-Jun Chen, Hsin-Chun Xiang, Zhen-Yong Zhang, Wei-Ping Han, Zhou-Dong Liao, Pei-Chun Lee, Yung-I eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2020/04/28 New Phytol. 2020 Aug; 227(4):1213-1221. doi: 10.1111/nph.16623. Epub 2020 May 22" |
