Research in New Phytologist reveals the first example of a flower that mimics figs to deceive fig-pollinating wasps into pollinating it.
The flower, a type of milkweed called Heterostemma ficoides, tricks Kradibia wasps into pollinating it, while also attracting Megaselia flies. While the flies could complete their life cycle on H. ficoides flowers, the wasps could not, indicating that the flowers uses a combination of mutualism (with the flies) and deception (with the wasps) to thrive.
"The mimic H. ficoides not only strikingly resembles figs in appearance but also produces similar chemical cues," said corresponding author Aroonrat Kidyoo, PhD, of Chulalongkorn University, in Thailand. "Our findings show how a single flower can integrate two contrasting pollination strategies—deception and mutualism—to exploit two very different pollinators."
URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.71480
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