Dendrobium sinense
Encyclopedia
Dendrobium sinense is a species of Orchid (Orchidaceae) endemic to the Chinese island of Hainan
. It produces a volatile organic compound
that is unrecorded in other plant species.
The flowers of this orchid produce a bee pheromone
which attracts its pollinator, Vespa bicolor
, a species of hornet
.
The novel feature, first reported in 2009, is supposed to mimic the pheromones of honeybees, the Asian Apis cerana and European Apis mellifera honeybee, which is produced as a distress signal.
The chemical compound, (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol, can be detected by the hornet and is it is assumed this mimicry deceives the insect into visiting the flower without reward. The European beewolf (Philanthus triangulum
) is also able to detect this compound when hunting bees.
V. bicolor preys on honeybees to feed its larvae.
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
. It produces a volatile organic compound
Volatile organic compound
Volatile organic compounds are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary, room-temperature conditions. Their high vapor pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of the compound and...
that is unrecorded in other plant species.
The flowers of this orchid produce a bee pheromone
Pheromone
A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...
which attracts its pollinator, Vespa bicolor
Vespa bicolor
The Black shield wasp is a species of hornet which has been found to be the pollinator of an orchid, Dendrobium sinense, found only on the Chinese island of Hainan. Vespa bicolor preys on honeybees which it feeds to its larvae....
, a species of hornet
Hornet
Hornets are the largest eusocial wasps; some species can reach up to in length. The true hornets make up the genus Vespa and are distinguished from other vespines by the width of the vertex , which is proportionally larger in Vespa and by the anteriorly rounded gasters .- Life cycle :In...
.
The novel feature, first reported in 2009, is supposed to mimic the pheromones of honeybees, the Asian Apis cerana and European Apis mellifera honeybee, which is produced as a distress signal.
The chemical compound, (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol, can be detected by the hornet and is it is assumed this mimicry deceives the insect into visiting the flower without reward. The European beewolf (Philanthus triangulum
Philanthus triangulum
The European beewolf , also called the bee-eating philanthus , is a solitary wasp that lives in Europe and Northern Africa...
) is also able to detect this compound when hunting bees.
V. bicolor preys on honeybees to feed its larvae.
Sources
- Orchid Mimics Honey Bee Alarm Pheromone in Order to Attract Hornets for Pollination, Current Biology, Volume 19, Issue 16, 1368–1372, 6 August 2009, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.067