Abstract
The flowers of Ophrys orchids mimic receptive females of usually only one pollinator species. Males of this species are attracted primarily by the odour of a flower and transfer the pollinia during so-called ‘pseudocopulations’ with the flowers1,2,3. We have found that flowers of O. sphegodes produce the same compounds and in similar relative proportions as are found in the sex pheromone of its pollinator species, the solitary bee Andrena nigroaenea. Common straight-chain saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons are the key components in this chemical mimicry, which seems to be an economical means of pollinator attraction.
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Schiestl, F., Ayasse, M., Paulus, H. et al. Orchid pollination by sexual swindle. Nature 399, 421 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/20829
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/20829
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