Sexually deceptive orchids with distinct flower morphologies elicit different behaviours from a shared pollinator.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Pollination by sexual deception is one of the most specialized pollination strategies among angiosperms, with co-occurring plant species often exploiting males of different insect species. We test if the morphologically divergent orchids Caladenia cardiochila and its sympatric endangered congener C. lowanensis are dependent on the same thynnine wasp pollinator. We further investigate the role of floral traits on pollinator behaviour and evaluate potential hybridization risk.

Methods

Pollinator sharing was tested for with DNA barcoding. Pollinator behaviour was quantified and experimental floral dissections were used to determine the site of sexual attractant release. We employed GC-MS to test for the presence of sugar on orchid labella, hand crosses to as

SUBMITTER: de Jager ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12784070 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature