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Orchids. By Lauren Wensel. Questions to Address…. What are the different pollinators used by orchids? How does the Orchid attract pollinators?. Different Types of Pollinators:. Wingless Worker Ants Bees Butterflies Moths Flies Birds. Different Ways to Attract Pollinators.
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Orchids By Lauren Wensel
Questions to Address…. • What are the different pollinators used by orchids? • How does the Orchid attract pollinators?
Different Types of Pollinators: • Wingless Worker Ants • Bees • Butterflies • Moths • Flies • Birds
Different Ways to Attract Pollinators • Sexual deception • Different fragrances • Bright colors
Sexual Deception • The Orchids can attract the male wasps by releasing a chemical, 2-ethy-5-propylcyclohhexa-1,3-dione, which is similar to that of a female • Found in the Australian Orchid, Chiloglottis
Another use of Fragrances • The male euglossine bees are attracted to the orchid smell for a different reason • When they visit they scratch and brush themselves against the flower to get the scent • The bees collect the fragrance and store it in their hind tibiae
Why do the male Euglossine Bees collect the fragrance compound? • They could use it for metabolic reasons • The Males attract females with the scent and then use their territorial displays to lure them in • Males use the scent to attract other males to a mating site
Male Euglossine Bees • Diagram of male bee
Future Research…. • In the future I think it would be interesting to test which of the different types of pollinators are best for orchid fertilization.
References • Ackerman, J. D. “Specificity and Mutual Dependency of the Orchid- Euglossine Bee Interaction”. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.1983. Vol. 20. pp. 301-314. • Beattie, A. J., Peakall, R. “ Pollination of the Orchid Microtis Parviflora R. Br. By Flightless Worker Ants”. British Ecological Society. Vol. 3. No. 5. 1989. pp. 515- 522. • Calvo, Richard N. “ Evolutionary Demography of Orchids: Intensity and Frequency of Pollination and the Cost of Fruiting”. Ecology. Vol. 74. No. 4. June 1993. pp. 1033-1042 • Dobson, Calaway H., Dressler, Robert L., Hills, Harold G., Adams, Ralph M., Williams, Norris H. “ Biologically Active Compounds in Orchid Fragrances.” Science. Vol. 164. No. 3885. 13 June 1969. pp. 1243- 1249 • Nilsson, L. A. “ Orchid pollination Biology”. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Vol. 7. No.8. 1992. pp. 255-259 • O’ Connell, Lisa M., Johnston, Mark O. “Male and Female Pollination Success in a Deceptive Orchid, A Selection Study”. Ecology. Vol. 79. No.4. June 1998. pp. 1246-1260 • Schiestl, Florian P., Peakall, Rod, Mant, Jim G., Ibarra, Fernando, Schulz, Claudia, Franke, Stephan, Francke, Wittko. “The Chemistry of Sexual Deception in an Orchid- Wasp Pollination System”. Science. Vol. 302. 17 October 2003. pp. 437-438