Orchids

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Orchids

• By Lauren Wensel

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Questions to Address.

• What are the different pollinators used by
  orchids?
• How does the Orchid attract pollinators?

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Different Types of Pollinators

• Wingless Worker Ants
• Bees
• Butterflies
• Moths
• Flies
• Birds

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Different Ways to Attract Pollinators

• Sexual deception
• Different fragrances
• Bright colors

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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

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2-ethy-5-propylcyclohhexa-1,3-dione
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Wasp Attractiveness
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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

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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

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Male Euglossine Bees

• Diagram of male bee

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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.

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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