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Science 17 October 2003:
Vol. 302. no. 5644, pp. 437 - 438
DOI: 10.1126/science.1087835
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Reports

The Chemistry of Sexual Deception in an Orchid-Wasp Pollination System

Florian P. Schiestl,1* Rod Peakall,1 Jim G. Mant,1* Fernando Ibarra,2 Claudia Schulz,2 Stephan Franke,2 Wittko Francke2{dagger}

The "sexually deceptive" orchid Chiloglottis trapeziformis attracts males of its pollinator species, the thynnine wasp Neozeleboria cryptoides, by emitting a unique volatile compound, 2-ethyl-5-propylcyclohexan-1,3-dione, which is also produced by female wasps as a male-attracting sex pheromone.

1 School of Botany and Zoology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia.
2 Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King Platz 6, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany.


* Present address: Geobotanical Institute, ETH Zürch, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: francke{at}chemie.uni-hamburg.de

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Deception above, deception below: linking pollination and mycorrhizal biology of orchids.
R. J. Waterman and M. I. Bidartondo (2008)
J. Exp. Bot.
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Variability in Floral Scent in Rewarding and Deceptive Orchids: The Signature of Pollinator-imposed Selection?.
C. C. Salzmann, A. M. Nardella, S. Cozzolino, and F. P. Schiestl (2007)
Ann. Bot. 100, 757-765
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Phoretic nest parasites use sexual deception to obtain transport to their host's nest.
L. S. Saul-Gershenz and J. G. Millar (2006)
PNAS 103, 14039-14044
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Threatened Pollination Systems in Native Flora of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands.
T. ABE (2006)
Ann. Bot. 98, 317-334
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Chemistry and geographic variation of floral scent in Yucca filamentosa (Agavaceae).
G. P. Svensson, M. O. Hickman Jr, S. Bartram, W. Boland, O. Pellmyr, and R. A. Raguso (2005)
Am. J. Botany 92, 1624-1631
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Pseudocopulatory Pollination in Lepanthes (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) by Fungus Gnats.
M. A. BLANCO and G. BARBOZA (2005)
Ann. Bot. 95, 763-772
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)