Baltimore (Euphydryas phaeton) nectaring at daisy(Agryanthemum)

Pollination syndromes are suites of traits of flowers aimed at attracting a particular type of pollinator (Faegri & van der Pijl, 1979; Proctor et al. 1996). The traits include flower shape, size, colour, reward type and amount, nectar composition, timing, etc. For example, tubular red flowers with copious nectar attract birds; nasty smelling flowers attract flies, etc. The syndromes are the product of convergent evolution, in response to similar selection pressures. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2341x1858, 2848 KB) Name  Euphydryas phaeton, Baltimore Family  Nymphalidae Baltimore checkerspot Euphydryas phaeton nectaring at daisy Agyranthemum Delton, Michigan, USA July 1 2006 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2341x1858, 2848 KB) Name  Euphydryas phaeton, Baltimore Family  Nymphalidae Baltimore checkerspot Euphydryas phaeton nectaring at daisy Agyranthemum Delton, Michigan, USA July 1 2006 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are... For other uses, see Flower (disambiguation). ... A pollinator is the agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain. ... It has been suggested that Morphological convergence be merged into this article or section. ... Natural selection is the process by which individual organisms with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce. ...

Abiotic pollination syndromes

These don’t aim to attract animal pollinators. Nevertheless, they have suites of shared traits.

Plantago media, pollinated by wind or insects

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1043x1334, 126 KB) Plantago media Botanical garden, Tabor, Czech Republic (July 7, 2005) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pollination syndrome ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1043x1334, 126 KB) Plantago media Botanical garden, Tabor, Czech Republic (July 7, 2005) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pollination syndrome ... Binomial name Plantago media L., 1753 Plantago media, known as the hoary plantain, is a species of genus Plantago native to central Europe and introduced to parts of the north-east United States. ...

Wind pollination (anemophily)

Flowers may be small and inconspicuous, green and not showy. They produce enormous amounts of tiny pollen grains (hence wind-pollinated plants may be allergens, but seldom are animal-pollinated plants allergenic). They have large feathery stigmas to catch the pollen grains. They grow in low-diversity stands and are among the taller species in their communities. Insects may visit them to collect pollen, but they are not the most effective pollinators and exert little selection pressure on them. Anemophily is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea), hollyhock (Sidalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... An allergen is any substance (antigen), most often eaten or inhaled, that is recognized by the immune system and causes an allergic reaction. ...

Water pollination (hydrophily)

Water-pollinated plants are aquatic. Their flowers tend to be small and inconspicuous with lots of pollen grains and large, feathery stigmas to catch the pollen. Many aquatic plants are insect-pollinated, with flowers that emerge into the air. Hydrophily is a fairly uncommon form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by the flow of waters, particularly in rivers and streams. ... Aquatic plants — also called hydrophytic plants or hydrophytes — are plants that have adapted to living in or on aquatic environments. ... Look up stigma on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Biotic pollination syndromes

Sunflower pollinated by butterflies and bees

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (768x1024, 145 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pollination syndrome ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (768x1024, 145 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pollination syndrome ... Binomial name Helianthus annuus L. The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant in the Family Asteraceae, with a large flower head (inflorescence). ...

Bee pollination (melittophily)

Bee-pollinated flowers tend to fall into two classes: Families Andrenidae Apidae Colletidae Halictidae Megachilidae Melittidae Stenotritidae Bee collecting pollen Bees (a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila) are flying insects, closely related to wasps and ants. ...

• Showy, open, bowl-shaped flowers that are relatively unspecialized (e.g. wild roses, sunflowers)
• Showy, complicated, non-radially symmetric flowers that are more specialized (e.g. peas, foxgloves)

Some bee flowers tend to be yellow or blue, often with ultraviolet nectar guides and scent. Nectar, pollen, or both are offered as rewards in varying amounts. The sugar in the nectar tends to be sucrose-dominated. Species About 100, see text References:   U. of Illinois 2002-05-29 A rose is a flowering shrub of the genus Rosa and the flower of this shrub. ... Binomial name Helianthus annuus L. The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant in the Family Asteraceae, with a large flower head (inflorescence). ... Binomial name Pisum sativum L. A pea is the small, edible round green bean which grows in a pod on the leguminous vine Pisum sativum, or in some cases to the immature pods. ... Species Digitalis ferruginea Digitalis grandiflora Digitalis lanata Digitalis lutea Digitalis obscura Digitalis purpurea Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous biennials, perennials and shrubs in the foxglove family Scrophulariaceae. ... Nectar guides are patterns seen in some flowers, such as sunflowers, when viewed under ultraviolet light. ... In Greek mythology, nectar and ambrosia are the food of the gods. ... Sucrose (common name: table sugar, also called saccharose) is a disaccharide (glucose + fructose) with the molecular formula C12H22O11. ...

There are diverse types of bees, however. Honeybees, bumblebees, orchid bees, etc are large groups that are quite distinctive in size, tongue length and behaviour (some solitary, some colonial). Thus generalization about bees is difficult (Fenster at al. 2004.) Some plants can only be pollinated by bees because their anthers release pollen internally, and it must be shaken out by buzz pollination. Bees are the only animals that perform this behaviour. Species Apis andreniformis Apis cerana, or eastern honey bee Apis dorsata, or giant honey bee Apis florea Apis koschevnikovi Apis laboriosa Apis mellifera, or western honey bee Apis nigrocincta Apis nuluensis Honey bees are a subset of bees which represent a far smaller fraction of bee diversity than most people... Species more than 250 species and subspecies in 37 subgenera A bumblebee in flight The bumblebee (also spelled bumble bee, also known as humblebee) is a flying insect of the genus Bombus in the family Apidae. ... Genera Aglae Euglossa Eulaema Eufriesea Exaerete Euglossine bees, also called orchid bees, are the only group of corbiculate bees which do not all possess eusocial behavior. ... A human tongue The tongue is the large bundle of skeletal muscles on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing and swallowing, (deglutition). ... Flower of the spider tree (Crateva religiosa) with its numerous conspicuous stamens The stamen is the male organ of a flower. ... Some flowers are pollinated using buzz pollination. ...

Butterfly pollination (psychophily)

Butterfly-pollinated flowers tend to be large and showy, pink or lavender in colour, frequently have a landing area, and are usually scented. Since butterflies do not digest pollen (with one exception), more nectar is offered than pollen. The flowers have simple nectar guides with the nectaries usually hidden in narrow tubes or spurs, reached by the long tongue of the butterlies. Families Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera, and belongs to one of the superfamilies Hesperioidea (the skippers) or Papilionoidea (all other butterflies). ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

Hesperoyucca whipplei (moth-pollinated)

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1764x1402, 1666 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Our Lords Candle Pollination syndrome Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1764x1402, 1666 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Our Lords Candle Pollination syndrome Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... Binomial name Hesperoucca whipplei (Torr. ...

Moth pollination (phalaenophily)

Day-flying sphinx moth nectaring on Brazilian vervain

Among the more important moth pollinators are the hawk moths (Sphingidae). Their behaviour is similar to hummingbirds: they hover in front of flowers with rapid wingbeats. Most are nocturnal or crepuscular. So moth-pollinated flowers tend to be white, night-opening, large and showy with tubular corollas and a strong, sweet scent produced in the evening, night or early morning. A lot of nectar is produced to fuel the high metabolic rates needed to power their flight. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1800x1681, 1380 KB) Sphinx moth nectaring on Brazilian vervain File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1800x1681, 1380 KB) Sphinx moth nectaring on Brazilian vervain File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly. ... Genera Macroglossinae Smerinthinae Sphinginae etc. ... Genera Macroglossinae Smerinthinae Sphinginae etc. ... Genera Many, see text. ... A nocturnal animal is one that sleeps during the day and is active at night - the opposite of the human (diurnal) schedule. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Corolla be merged into this article or section. ... Santorio Santorio (1561-1636) in his steelyard balance, from Ars de statica medecina, first published 1614 Metabolism (from μεταβολισμος(metavallo), the Greek word for change), in the most general sense, is the ingestion and breakdown of complex compounds, coupled...

Other moths (Noctuids, Geometrids, Pyralids, for example) fly slowly and settle on the flower. They do not require as much nectar as the fast-flying hawk moths, and the flowers tend to be small (though they may be aggregated in heads) (Oliveira et al. 2004). Diversity 4,200 genera 35,000 species Type Species Noctua pronuba (Large Yellow Underwing) Subfamilies Acontiinae Acronictinae Aganainae Agaristinae Amphipyrinae Amphipyrinae Bagisarinae Bryophilinae Calpinae Catocalinae Cocytiinae Condicinae Cuculliinae Dilobinae Eucocytiinae Eustrotiinae Euteliinae Glottulinae Hadeninae Heliothinae Herminiinae Hypeninae Ipimorphinae Noctuinae Plusiinae Psaphidinae Raphiinae Stictopterinae Stiriinae Strepsimaninae Ufeinae The Noctuidae or Owlets... Diversity over 20,500 species Families Geometridae Uraniidae Sematuridae Geometroidea is the superfamily of geometrid moths in the Lepidoptera. ... Diversity roughly 16,000 species Pyraloidea is the superfamily of pyraloids and plume moths. ...

Sapromyophilous Stapelia gigantea

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1920x2560, 2542 KB) Beschreibung: Aasblume (Stapelia gigantea) Quelle: selbst fotografiert Fotograf oder Zeichner: Michael Joachim Lucke Datum: August 2005 from de. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1920x2560, 2542 KB) Beschreibung: Aasblume (Stapelia gigantea) Quelle: selbst fotografiert Fotograf oder Zeichner: Michael Joachim Lucke Datum: August 2005 from de. ... Species See text The genus Stapelia consists of around 40 species of low growing, spineless stem succulent plants, predominantly from South Africa. ... Binomial name Stapelia gigantea Stapelia gigantea is a flowering plant in the Stapelia genus of plants commonly referred to as the Carrion Plant. ...

Fly pollination (myophily and sapromyophily)

There are two types of fly pollination: myophily and sapromyophily. A diversity of flies (particularly bee flies (Bombyliidae), hover flies (Syrphidae), etc.) feed on nectar and pollen as adults, and regularly visit flowers. These are the myophiles. Sapromyophiles, on the other hand, normally visit dead animals or dung. They are attracted to flowers that mimic these odoriferous items! They obtain no reward and would quickly leave, but the plant may have traps to slow them down. These plants have a strong, unpleasant odor, and are brown or orange in color. They are not as common as myophilous plants (Jones & Jones 2001). Myophilous plants do not tend to have a strong scent, and tend to be purple, violet, blue, and white, open dishes, or tubes (Kastinger & Weber, 2001). Subfamilies Many, among them : Anthracinae Antoniinae Bombyliinae Cythereinae Ecliminae Heterotropinae Homoeophthalmae Lomatiinae Phthiriinae Systropinae Tomomyzinae Toxophorinae Usiinae Bombyliidae is a large family of flies with hundreds of genera, although their life cycles are not well known. ... Subfamilies Eristalinae Microdontinae Syrphinae 200 genera about 5,000 species Flies in the Diptera family Syrphidae are commonly known as hoverflies, flower flies, or Syrphid flies. ... Dung can refer to: Look up dung in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Flies tend to be important pollinators in high-altitude and high-latitude systems, where they are numerous and other insect groups may be lacking (Larson et al., 2001). Altitude is the elevation of an object from a known level or datum. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ...

Bird pollination (ornithophily)

Although hummingbirds are the most familiar nectar-feeding birds for North Americans, there are analogous species in other parts of the world: sunbirds, honeyeaters, flowerpeckers, honeycreepers, bananaquits, flowerpiercers and lorikeets (Lotz & Schondube, 2006). Hummingbirds are the oldest group, with the greatest degree of specialization on nectar (Lotz & Schondube, 2006). Flowers attractive to hummingbirds that can hover in front of the flower tend to be large red or orange tubes with a lot of dilute nectar, secreted during the day. Since birds do not have a strong response to scent, they tend to be odorless. Perching birds need a substantial landing platform, so sunbirds, honeyeaters, and the like are less associated with tubular flowers. Genera Many, see text. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Genera Many: see text The sunbirds and spiderhunters are very small passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. ... Genera Anthochaera Acanthagenys Plectorhyncha Philemon Xanthornyzma Entomyzon Manorina Xanthotis Meliphaga Lichenostomus Melithreptus Notiomystis Glycichaera Lichmera Trichodere Grantiella Phylidonyris Ramsayornis Conopophila Acanthorhynchus Certhionyx Myzomela Anthornis Prosthemadera Epthianura Ashbyia The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also... Genera Prionochilus Dicaeum The flowerpeckers are a family of passerine birds found in tropical southern Asia and Australasia from India east to the Philippines and south to Australia. ... Genera Chlorophanes Cyanerpes The Honeycreepers are small birds in the tanager family. ... Binomial name Coereba flaveola (Linnaeus, 1758) The Bananaquit, Coereba flaveola, is a passerine bird, the only member of the family Coerebidae. ... Genera Chalcopsitta Eos Pseudeos Trichoglossus Lorius Phigys Vini Glossopsitta Charmosyna Oreopsittacus Neopsittacus Lorikeets and lories are small, brightly coloured, highly aboreal parrots. ...

African baobab (bat-pollinated)

Image File history File links Adansonia_digitata_20050823_flower. ... Image File history File links Adansonia_digitata_20050823_flower. ... Binomial name Adansonia digitata L. Adansonia digitata, also known as the African baobab, is the species of baobab that is naturally found in mainland Africa. ...

Bat pollination (chiropterophily)

Bat-pollinated flowers tend to: be large and showy, white or light coloured, open at night and have strong odours. They are often large and bell-shaped. Bats drink the nectar, and these plants typically offer nectar for extended periods of time. Sight, smell, and echo-location are used to initially find the flowers, and excellent spatial memory is used to visit them repeatedly (Von Helversen et al. 2003). In fact bats can identify nectar-producing flowers using echolocation, a talent that was only recently discovered (Von Helversen et al., 2003). In the New World, bat pollinated flowers often have sulphur-scented compounds, but this does not carry to other parts of the world (Pettersen et al. 2004). Bat-pollinated plants have bigger pollen than their relatives (Stroo 2001). Suborders Megachiroptera Microchiroptera See text for families. ... Look up bell, Bell in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Echolocation, also called Biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several mammals such as bats, dolphins and whales. ... Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, c. ... For the chemical element see: sulfur. ...

Beetle pollination (cantharophily)

Beetle-pollinated flowers are usually large, greenish or off-white in color and heavily scented. Scents may be spicy, fruity, or similar to decaying organic material. Most beetle-pollinated flowers are flattened or dish shaped, with pollen easily accessible, although they may include traps to keep the beetle longer. Beetles may be particularly important in semi-desert areas, like South Africa and southern California (Jones & Jones, 2001). Suborders Adephaga Archostemata Myxophaga Polyphaga See subgroups of the order Coleoptera Wikispecies has information related to: Coleoptera Beetles are the most diverse group of insects. ... Southern California Downtown Los Angeles Skyline Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal or colloquially, the Southland, is an informal name for the megalopolis and nearby desert that occupies the southern-most quarter of the U.S. state of California. ...

Biology

Pollination syndromes reflect convergent evolution towards forms (phenotypes) that limit the number of species of pollinators visiting the plant (Fenster et al., 2004). They increase the specialization of the plant with regard to pollination. They are responses to common selection pressures exerted by shared pollinators, which generate correlations among traits. That is, if two distantly related plant species are both pollinated by nocturnal moths, for example, their flowers will converge on a form most attractive to the moths (i.e. pale colour, sweet scent, nectar released at the end of a long tube, night-flowering), because the most attractive forms will produce the most offspring. It has been suggested that Morphological convergence be merged into this article or section. ... The phenotype of an individual organism is either its total physical appearance and constitution or a specific manifestation of a trait, such as size, eye color, or behavior that varies between individuals. ... A pollinator is the agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain. ...

Advantages of specialization

• Efficiency of pollination: the rewards given to pollinators, commonly nectar or pollen or both, but sometimes oil (Buchmann 1987), scents, or wax, may be costly to produce. Nectar can be cheap, but pollen is generally expensive as it is relatively high in nitrogen compounds. A plant seeks to obtain the maximum pollen transfer for the minimum reward. Different pollinators, because of their size, shape, or behaviour, have different efficiency of transfer of pollen. And the floral traits affect efficiency of transfer: columbine flowers were experimentally altered and presented to hawkmoths, and flower orientation, shape and colour were found to affect visitation rates or pollen removal (Fulton and Hodges 1999; Hodges et al., 2002).

Pollinator constancy: these two honeybees, active at the same time and place, selectively visit flowers from only one species, as can be seen by the colour of the pollen in their baskets

• Pollinator constancy: to efficiently transfer pollen, it is best for the plant if the pollinator focuses on one species of plant, ignoring other species. Otherwise, pollen may be dropped uselessly on the stigmas of other species. Animals, of course, do not aim to pollinate, they aim to collect food as fast as they can. However, many pollinator species exhibit constancy, passing up available flowers to focus on one plant species. Why should animals specialize on a plant species, rather than move to the next flower of any species? Although pollinator constancy was recognized by Aristotle, we don’t fully understand the benefits to animals (Gegear and Laverty, 2005). The most common hypothesis is that pollinators must learn to handle particular types of flowers, and they have limited capacity to learn different types. They can only efficiently gather rewards from one type of flower.

For other things of this name, see Columbine (disambiguation). ... Genera Macroglossinae Smerinthinae Sphinginae etc. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2720x1559, 663 KB) Two honeybees, Apis mellifera visiting different flowers (Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis and Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum) at the same time, same day. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2720x1559, 663 KB) Two honeybees, Apis mellifera visiting different flowers (Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis and Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum) at the same time, same day. ... Look up stigma on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ...

Advantages of generalization

Pollinators fluctuate in abundance and activity independently of their plants (Petterson, 1991), and any one species may fail to pollinate a plant in a particular year, thus a plant may be at an advantage if it attracts several species or types of pollinators, ensuring pollen transfer every year. Plants do, in many species, have the back-up option of self-pollination, if they are not self-incompatible.

Criticisms of the syndromes

Some species of plants are visited only by one type or species of animal. These plants often conform to the expectations from the syndromes. Yet pollination syndromes have been criticized because biologists observe that many plant species are visited by very different pollinators (Herrera, 1996, Waser et al., 1996). A flower may be visited by a bee, a butterfly and a bird. Also, relying on one species or type of pollinator causes variable reproductive success across years because pollinator population sizes vary independently (Waser at al. 1996). In such cases, plants should generalize. A pollinator is the agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain. ...

Such criticism has lead to re-evaluation of the syndromes. First, it is important to realize that pollinators should be grouped not taxonomically, but by their function: how they collect pollen and nectar, and how they find flowers (Fenster et al., 2004). Such functional groups of pollinators may contain many species that exert similar selective pressures. Additionally, pollinator effectiveness is often more important than frequency of visits (Fenster et al., 2004). A frequent visitor may be a poor pollinator, if it does not pick up and deposit much pollen or if it visits plants of many different species. The most effective pollinator may be less frequent, especially as visitation may vary over time. Some of the studies critical of the syndrome concept measure visits, but not actual pollen transfer (Fenster et al., 2004)..

Analysing flower traits and visitation in 49 species in the plant genus Penstemon, Wilson et al. (2004) found that they could separate bird- and bee- pollinated species quite well, but could not easily separate different types of bee visitation. In Tasmania, Hingston & McQuillan (2000) found the syndromes did not usefully predict the pollinators. However, Fenster et al. (2004) concluded in their review that there is “overwhelming evidence that functional groups exert different selection pressures on floral traits.” This conclusion is based largely on studies that either experimentally manipulate flowers beyond the normal range of variation, or that compare related plant species with different pollinators.

References

A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a permanent identifier (permalink) given to a World Wide Web file or other Internet document so that if its Internet address changes, users will be redirected to its new address. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a permanent identifier (permalink) given to a World Wide Web file or other Internet document so that if its Internet address changes, users will be redirected to its new address. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a permanent identifier (permalink) given to a World Wide Web file or other Internet document so that if its Internet address changes, users will be redirected to its new address. ...

See also

• Pollinator decline
• Pollinator
• Entomophily
• Zoophily