@article {23518, title = {Floral scent and pollinators of Ceropegia trap flowers}, journal = {Flora}, volume = {232}, year = {2017}, pages = {169{\textendash}182}, abstract = {

Ceropegia L. (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae) comprises more than 200 species, all characterized by complex pitfall flowers. The deceptive flowers are myiophilous and pollinated predominantly by small flies from different families. It has been suggested that floral scent cues, that mimic food sources or oviposition sites, play an important role for attraction of target fly pollinators, and, together with morphological flower traits, explain the high functional specialization in terms of pollination by specific taxa. However, apart from two Ceropegia species, the floral scent composition and the mimicry strategies in this genus are unexplored. We tested for associations between floral scent and insect visitor and pollinator assemblages of 14 Ceropegia species. We also used nrDNA and chloroplast DNA markers to calculate a Maximum Likelihood tree and test for phylogenetic signal in scent chemistry and flower visitors/pollinators. The observed pollinators belonged to eight fly families, at least 18 genera, and 33 morphospecies, but each Ceropegia species was typically associated with only one or two pollinating fly families or genera. We detected a total of 317 floral volatiles, including aliphatic and aromatic components, terpenes, and various unknowns. Both flower visitor and pollinator patterns did not show an overall association with floral
scent chemistry. There was phylogenetic signal in flower visiting fly families and fly pollinator assemblages, but not in flower visiting fly morphospecies and overall scent chemistry. We discuss that despite the not existing correlation between pollinator and scent patterns the highly specific pollination system in Ceropegia will be explained mainly by floral scent chemistry.

}, keywords = {Chemical mimicry, Deceptive strategy, Fly pollination, Pollen transfer efficiency, Scent specificity}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2017.02.001}, author = {A Heiduk and Irina Brake and Tschirnhaus, M. von and Haenni, J. P. and Miller, R. and Hash, J. and Prieto-Ben{\'\i}tez, S. and J{\"u}rgens, A. and Johnson, S. D. and Schulz, S. and Liede-Schumann, S. and Meve, U. and D{\"o}tterl, S.} } @article {23226, title = {Ceropegia sandersonii mimics attacked honeybees to attract kleptoparasitic flies for pollination}, journal = {Current Biology}, volume = {26}, year = {2016}, month = {2016/10/24}, pages = {1-7}, abstract = {

Four to six percent of plants, distributed over different angiosperm families, entice pollinators by deception [1]. In these systems, chemical mimicry is often used as an efficient way to exploit the olfactory preferences of animals for the purpose of attracting them as pollinators [2,3]. Here, we report a very specific type of chemical mimicry of a food source. Ceropegia sandersonii (Apocynaceae), a deceptive South African plant with pitfall flowers, mimics attacked honeybees. We identified kleptoparasitic Desmometopa flies (Milichiidae) as the main pollinators of C. sandersonii. These flies are well known to feed on honeybees that are eaten by spiders, which we thus predicted as the model chemically mimicked by the plant. Indeed, we found that the floral scent of C. sandersonii is comparable to volatiles released from honeybees when under simulated attack. Moreover, many of these shared compounds elicited physiological responses in antennae of pollinating Desmometopa flies. A mixture of four compounds\—geraniol, 2-heptanone, 2-nonanol, and (E)-2-octen-1-yl acetate\—was highly attractive to the flies. We conclude that C. sandersonii is specialized on kleptoparasitic fly pollinators by deploying volatiles linked to the flies\’ food source, i.e., attacked and/or freshly killed honeybees. The blend of compounds emitted by C. sandersonii is unusual among flowering plants and lures kleptoparasitic flies into the trap flowers. This study describes a new example of how a plant can achieve pollination through chemical mimicry of the food sources of adult carnivorous animals.

}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.085}, author = {A Heiduk and Irina Brake and Tschirnhaus, M. von and G{\"o}hl, M. and J{\"u}rgens, A. and Johnson, S. D. and Meve, U. and D{\"o}tterl, S.} } @article {15436, title = {Acalyptrate Fliegen (Diptera: Schizophora, Acalyptratae) der jungen D{\"u}neninseln Memmert und Mellum unter besonderer Ber{\"u}cksichtigung der Agromyzidae und Chloropidae. Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen von 1984-1986 und 1994}, journal = {Drosera}, volume = {1-2}, year = {2007}, note = {Acalyptrate flies (Diptera: Schizophora, Acalyptratae) from the yellow dune islands Memmert and Mellum with special consideration of Agromyzidae and Chloropidae. Results of investigations from 1984-1986 and 1994}, pages = {99-136}, abstract = {Acalyptrate flies (Diptera, Schizophora, "Acalyptratae") from the yellow dune islands Memmert and Mellum, with special reference to the Agromyzidae and Chloropidae. Study results of the years 1984[long dash]1986 and 1994. Investigations on the dipterous fly fauna of the so called Acalyptratae" had been carried out on two uninhabited and only some 140- years-old German dune islands in the North Sea. These nature protected islands of Memmert and Mellum are situated 90 km apart from each other. Since 1917 Memmert has been populated by domestic rabbits. Altogether, 37 families of acalyptrate Diptera out of 51 in Germany are recorded from ten out of eleven East Frisian Islands. From the two specifically studied young islands, 246,517 specimens have been identified to the family level. 3,408 Agromyzidae (leaf miner flies) belonged to 133 spp., and 47,833 Chloropidae (grass- or frit flies) to 69 spp. Selected species of 15 further families were also identified and discussed concerning their ecology; particularly regarded are salt marsh species, a cambium miner and the dispersal over sea. Tables present information on all agromyzids and chloropids from traps: diversity, flight activity, dominance, phenology, sexual index, and colour preference. It is demonstrated how many specimens must be collected weekly to find one more species. The study is mainly based on the catches of Moericke pan-traps placed on both islands during 1985 and 1994. The numbers of captured specimens of all families from both islands are compared. Included is a comparison of their different pan trap abundance with that of the mainland of western Germany. Sweep net samples enlarge the faunistic analysis. The different results of each sampling method are recorded. The fauna of the island grazed by rabbits differs from that of the island inhabited only by one different terrestrial mammal, the wood mouse. Agromyzidae, Camillidae, and (one species of) Sepsidae are the dipterous families peculiarly influenced by rabbits. A table places all potential host plant genera noted on both islands against all their specific recorded phytophagous leaf miner- and grass fly species. Eight species are new additions to the German checklist: Aulagromyza incognita (HERING, 1956) stat. rev., Liriomyza taurica ZLOBIN, 2002 (Agromyzidae), Chlorops scutellaris (ZETTERSTEDT, 1838), Meromyza rufa FEDOSEEVA, 1962, lncertella scotica (Gown], 1946), Oscinimorpha koeleriae NARCUK, 1970 (Chloropidae), Gymnochiromyia flavella (ZETTERSTEDT, 1848) (Chyromyidae), and Minettia desmometopa (DE MEIJERE, 1907) (Lauxaniidae). The chloropids Siphunculina nidicola NARTSHUK, 1971 and Meromyza rohdendorfi FEDOSEEVA, 1974 as well as Anthomyza paraneglecta ELBERG, 1968 (Anthomyzidae) are recorded for the second time in Germany. For Canada, Croatia, Norway and Spain, Canary Islands, faunistic data (first records) are included, too. New identification characters are presented for several species. Taxonomic notes on Incertella SABROSKY and Microcercis BESCHOVSKI are added.}, keywords = {Carnidae, Desmometopa m-nigrum, Desmometopa sordida, Germany, Madiza glabra, Milichiidae, Phyllomyza securicornis}, isbn = {0341-406X}, author = {Tschirnhaus, M. von} }