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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Mimicking orchids lure bees from afar with exaggerated ultraviolet signals
Ecology and evolution, Vol.13(1), e9759
01/2023
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Abstract
Flowers have many traits to appeal to pollinators, including ultraviolet (UV) absorbing markings, which are well-known for attracting bees at close proximity (e.g., <1 m). While striking UV signals have been thought to attract pollinators also from far away, if these signals impact the plant pollinia removal over distance remains unknown. Here, we report the case of the Australian orchid Diuris brumalis, a nonrewarding species, pollinated by bees via mimicry of the rewarding pea plant Daviesia decurrens. When distant from the pea plant, Diuris was hypothesized to enhance pollinator attraction by exaggeratedly mimicking the floral ultraviolet (UV) reflecting patterns of its model. By experimentally modulating floral UV reflectance with a UV screening solution, we quantified the orchid pollinia removal at a variable distance from the model pea plants. We demonstrate that the deceptive orchid Diuris attracts bee pollinators by emphasizing the visual stimuli, which mimic the floral UV signaling of the rewarding model Daviesia. Moreover, the exaggerated UV reflectance of Diuris flowers impacted pollinators' visitation at an optimal distance from Da. decurrens, and the effect decreased when orchids were too close or too far away from the model. Our findings support the hypothesis that salient UV flower signaling plays a functional role in visual floral mimicry, likely exploiting perceptual gaps in bee neural coding, and mediates the plant pollinia removal at much greater spatial scales than previously expected. The ruse works most effectively at an optimal distance of several meters revealing the importance of salient visual stimuli when mimicry is imperfect.
Details
- Title
- Mimicking orchids lure bees from afar with exaggerated ultraviolet signals
- Creators
- Daniela Scaccabarozzi - Curtin UniversityKlaus Lunau - Heinrich‐Heine University DüsseldorfLorenzo Guzzetti - University of Milano – BicoccaSalvatore Cozzolino - University of Naples Federico IIAdrian G. Dyer - RMIT UniversityNicola Tommasi - University of Milano – BicoccaPaolo Biella - University of Milano – BicoccaAndrea Galimberti - University of Milano – BicoccaMassimo Labra - University of Milano – BicoccaIlaria Bruni - University of Milano – BicoccaGiorgio Pattarini - University of StavangerMark Brundrett - University of Western AustraliaMonica Gagliano - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Ecology and evolution, Vol.13(1), e9759
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- Endeavor Fellowship Program. Grant Number: 5117_2016 Australian Orchid Foundation. Grant Number: 308.16 Curtin University. Grant Number: CIPRS-CSIRS_2017 Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II Short Mobility Program D.M.. Grant Number: 976_2017 Templeton World Charity Foundation. Grant Number: TWCF0541 Australian Research Council Discovery Project. Grant Number: DP160100161
- Identifiers
- 991013086013202368
- Copyright
- © 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article