Myrmecia urens

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While pollination by ants is somewhat rare,{{cite journal|title=Ant Inhibition of Pollen Function: A Possible Reason Why Ant Pollination is Rare|first=Andrew J.|last= Beattie|author2=Turnbull, Christine |author3=Knox, R. B. |author4=Williams, E. G.|journal=American Journal of Botany|volume=71| issue=3| year=1984| pages= 421–426|doi=10.2307/2443499|jstor=2443499}} the orchid Leporella fimbriata is a myrmecophyte which can only be pollinated by the winged males of this species.{{cite journal|last1=Peakall|first1=Rod|title=The unique pollination of Leporella fimbriata (Orchidaceae): Pollination by pseudocopulating male ants (Myrmecia urens, Formicidae)|journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution|date=1989|volume=167|issue=3–4|pages=137–148|doi=10.1007/BF00936402|issn=1615-6110|jstor=23673944|bibcode=1989PSyEv.167..137P |s2cid=27901569}}{{cite journal|last1=Peakall|first1=Rod|last2=Angus|first2=Craig J.|last3=Beattie|first3=Andrew J.|title=The significance of ant and plant traits for ant pollination in Leporella fimbriata|journal=Oecologia|date=October 1990|volume=84|issue=4|pages=457–460|doi=10.1007/BF00328160|issn=1432-1939|jstor=4219450|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225312648|pmid=28312960|bibcode=1990Oecol..84..457P |s2cid=45589875}}{{cite journal|last1=Peakall|first1=R.|last2=Beattie|first2=A. J.|last3=James|first3=S. H.|title=Pseudocopulation of an orchid by male ants: a test of two hypotheses accounting for the rarity of ant pollination|journal=Oecologia|date=October 1987|volume=73|issue=4|pages=522–524|doi=10.1007/BF00379410|issn=1432-1939|jstor=4218401|pmid=28311968|bibcode=1987Oecol..73..522P |s2cid=3195610}} Pollination of this orchid usually occurs between April and June during warm afternoons, and may take several days until the males all die due to their limited lifespan.{{cite book|last1=Pridgeon|first1=Alec M.|title=Genera Orchidacearum. Volume 2, Orchidoideae (part 1)|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-19-850710-9|page=162}} The flower mimics M. urens queens, and so the males move from flower to flower in an attempt to copulate with it.{{cite book|last1=Thompson|first1=John N.|title=The coevolutionary process|date=1994|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|isbn=978-0-226-79759-5|page=198}}{{cite book|last1=Cingel|first1=N. A. van der|title=An atlas of orchid pollination: America, Africa, Asia and Australia|date=2000|publisher=Balkema|location=Rotterdam, South Holland|isbn=978-90-5410-486-5|page=200}}

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urens

Category:Insects described in 1865

Category:Orchid pollinators

Category:Hymenoptera of Australia

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