US EditionFirst-Ever Documented Case of a Plant Mimicking Ants to Attract Pollinators
The dogbane plant lures grass flies by mimicking injured ants’ odor, ensuring pollination through a unique evolutionary strategy, researchers say this floral mimicry was previously unknown.
- Researchers led by Dr. Ko Mochizuki discovered that the Japanese plant Vincetoxicum nakaianum mimics the odor of injured ants to attract pollinating flies.
- Dr. Mochizuki first collected this plant as a reference specimen during another study and happened to observe chloropid flies congregating near its blossoms in a Tokyo botanical garden, which led him to propose his hypothesis.
- The plant uses smell to imitate ants attacked by spiders, and grass flies attracted to this odor then pollinate the flowers while feeding.
- Dr. Mochizuki expressed his interest in exploring how ant mimicry evolved by examining the differences in pollination strategies, phylogenetic relationships, and genetic characteristics of Vincetoxicum nakaianum along with related species.
- This finding suggests many floral mimicry forms may remain undiscovered, prompting plans to explore similar mimicry in related and unrelated plant species.
25 Articles
25 Articles
This flower smells like dying ants, and flies can’t resist it
Vincetoxicum nakaianum tricks flies into pollinating it by imitating the smell of ants attacked by spiders. Ko Mochizuki stumbled upon this finding when he noticed flies clustering around the flowers and later confirmed their unusual preference. The study reveals the first known case of ant odor mimicry in plants, expanding our understanding of how diverse floral deception can be.
Some orchids mimic the smell of the sexual pheromones of bees or wasps to attract males. Confused, they try to have sex with the flower, when they pick up or leave the pollen without the plant having to strive to produce nectar as a reward. The strategy, called 'chemical mimetism', is also used by the famous corpse flower or stapelia, which stupends rotten meat to attract flies. Now, researchers at the University of Tokyo have discovered the fir…
First-ever documented case of a plant mimicking ants to attract pollinators
Ko Mochizuki of the University of Tokyo has discovered that Vincetoxicum nakaianum (a dogbane species native to Japan described for the first time by Mochizuki and his collaborators only a year ago) mimics the smell of ants attacked by spiders. This scent attracts flies that feed on these injured insects and pollinate the flowers in the process. This is the first case of a plant mimicking the odor of ants, revealing that the scope of floral mimi…
Science Writing, Sep 24 (EFE).- A type of oleander native to Japan is able to imitate the smell of wounded ants to attract flies that feed on them and thus, by the way, pollinate plants. This is the first known case of a plant that mimics the smell of ants attacked by spiders, which reveals that the extent of floral mimetism is more diverse than he imagined, indicates the research published by Current Biology. The team, headed by Ko Mochizuki of…
A researcher at the University of Tokyo has documented the first case of a plant that mimics a certain smell of ants to attract pollinators. ...
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 64% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
