Pseudocopulation of an orchid by male ants: a test of two hypotheses accounting for the rarity of ant pollination

@article{Peakall2004PseudocopulationOA,
  title={Pseudocopulation of an orchid by male ants: a test of two hypotheses accounting for the rarity of ant pollination},
  author={Rod Peakall and Andrew James Beattie and Sidney H. James},
  journal={Oecologia},
  year={2004},
  volume={73},
  pages={522-524}
}
SummaryThe orchid Leporella fimbriata is pollinated by pseudocopulation with winged males of the ant Myrmecia urens. This recently studied interaction provides a unique opportunity to examine the two current hypotheses concerning the apparent rarity of ant pollination systems worldwide. The first hypothesis requires a series of specialized growth forms and floral characteristics regarded as adaptations to ant pollination. L. fimbriata does not possess them. The second considers the pollenicidal… 
View on Springer
ask-force.org
40 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
4
Background Citations
17

40 Citations

POLLINATORS AS PREPOLLINATING ISOLATION FACTORS: EVOLUTION AND SPECIATION IN OPHRYS (ORCFFLDACEAE)

TLDR
It is considered it evident that specific pollinators have a strong selective effect on Ophrys flowers and an indirect proof of this hypothesis is brought by comparing the characters of the Ophreys flowers and of their pollinators.

The significance of ant and plant traits for ant pollination in Leporella fimbriata

TLDR
It appears that both ant and plant traits are pre-adaptive having evolved for functions other than ant pollination, particularly in the case of the orchid Leporella fimbriata.

The unique pollination ofLeporella fimbriata (Orchidaceae): Pollination by pseudocopulating male ants (Myrmecia urens, Formicidae)

  • R. Peakall
  • Environmental Science
    Plant Systematics and Evolution
  • 2004
TLDR
Pollination was widespread but variable from site to site and season to season with a maximum of 70% of all flowers being pollinated.

The ant-pollination system of Cytinus hypocistis (Cytinaceae), a Mediterranean root holoparasite.

TLDR
Mutualistic services by ant are essential for the pollination of Cytinus hypocistis, a self-compatible monoecious species that relies on insects for seed production that is evolving to a more specialized ant-pollination system.

Telipogon peruvianus (Orchidaceae) Flowers Elicit Pre-Mating Behaviour in Eudejeania (Tachinidae) Males for Pollination

TLDR
This study provides the first confirmed case of a sexually deceptive species in the Onciidinae, pollination by pre-copulatory behaviour andPollination by sexual deception involving tachinid flies.

Ant pollination of the palaeoendemic dioeciousBorderea pyrenaica (Dioscoreaceae)

TLDR
The small size of the ants, their high visitation rate to pistillate flowers, and the lack of reduction in viability of the pollen transported on the integument may account for their effectiveness.

Significant ant pollination in two orchid species in the Alps as adaptation to the climate of the alpine zone?

Ants were shown to be significant pollinators of two orchid species in the alpine zone of the Alps. Repeated observations from several localities confirm the ant Formica lemani as pollinator of…

First report on the pollination of Neotinea maculata (Orchidaceae) by minor worker ants of the Temnothorax exilis group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

TLDR
Despite ants observed in the field only promoted cross-pollination between flowers of the same individual (geitonogamy), there is a possibility that the ant will visit another plant’s inflorescence, and ants could be considered not only as visitors but also as true pollinators of N. maculata.

Orchid pollination: from Darwin to the present day

TLDR
How Darwin's seminal work on the angraecoid orchid Angraecum sesquipedale triggered the beginning of a long debate about the evolution of long floral spurs and why his idea of reciprocal evolution or ‘coevolution’ was one of the great contributions to evolutionary biology is discussed.

Ants pollinate Neottia listeroides (Orchidaceae) in Sichuan, China

Ant-plant interaction is widespread, common and diverse in terrestrial ecosystems, but ants acting as pollinators are uncommon. Here we present a study conducted in Huanglong Nature Reserve, Sichuan,…

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 24 REFERENCES

Wasp-pollinated species of Caladenia (Orchidaceae) in South-western Australia

TLDR
Each Caladenia species appears to attract and be pollinated by only one wasp species at the orchid site although there is limited evidence of geographic pollinator replacement in some species.

Pollination by Ants: A Low-Energy System

TLDR
Comparison of other purported ant-pollinated plants with traits favoring such pollination suggests that some, but not all, may be ant pollinated.

Biotic pollination mechanisms in the Australian flora — a review

TLDR
Critical examination of recorded feeding habits of the Australian coleopteran and dipteran faunas reveals that at least 28 of the 121 co-opteran families and 44 of the 87 Dipteran families contain anthophilous species.

The evolutionary ecology of ant-plant mutualisms

TLDR
Professor Beattie reviews the fascinating natural history of ant–plant interactions, discusses the scientific evidence for the mutualistic nature of these relationships, and reaches some conclusions about the ecological and evolutionary processes that mold them.

Antibiotic Production: a Possible Function for the Metapleural Glands of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

TLDR
In this species, experimental and control spores germinated at approximately equal rates, but the secretions significantly reduced subsequent hyphal growth, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the metapleural gland is a source of antibiotic.

THE VULNERABILITY OF POLLEN AND FUNGAL SPORES TO ANT SECRETIONS: EVIDENCE AND SOME EVOLUTIONARY IMPLICATIONS

Afin d'interpreter le role inhibiteur des glandes metapleurales sur la germination et la viabilite du pollen, une serie d'experiences est realisee avec les secretions de Myrmecia nigrista et les…

The principles of pollination ecology

TLDR
The principles of pollination ecology are studied in the context of beekeeping and their role in the evolution of honey bees.

The pollination of flowers

TLDR
The pollination of flowers, The pollinating of flowers , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و £1,000,000; کسورز اوشاوρزی; ا2,500,000 varieties of flowers have been recorded in the wild.

The coconut. A monograph.

Why Don't Ants Visit Flowers? A Reply to D. H. Janzen