Generalized pollination systems and autonomous self fertilization are traits that have been linked with plant invasiveness. However, whether specialized pollination requirements pose a significant barrier to plant invasions is not yet clear. Likewise, the contribution of pollinators to the fecundity of facultatively self pollinating invasive plant species is poorly understood. We addressed thes...

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 (Apocynace...

Wild and managed bees are well documented as effective pollinators of global crops of economic importance. However, the contributions by pollinators other than bees have been little explored despite their potential to contribute to crop production and stability in the face of environmental change. Non-bee pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, and bats, amon...

Hybridization between closely related species is relatively common in angiosperms and can create a natural hybrid zone. We review recent experimental studies of floral biology in pairs of hybridizing species, emphasizing comparisons of the floral morphology and nectar rewards of hybrid plants with that of their progenitors, and quantifying the influence of these floral traits on pollinator beha...

Peach Prunus persica (L.) Batsch is self-compatible and largely self-fertile, but under greenhouse conditions pollinators must be introduced to achieve good fruit set and quality. Because little work has been done to assess the effectiveness of different pollinators on peach trees under greenhouse conditions, we studied 'Okubo' peach in greenhouse tunnels near Beijing between 2012 and 2014. We ...

Animal pollination is essential for the reproductive success of many wild and crop plants. Loss and isolation of (semi-)natural habitats in agricultural landscapes can cause declines of plants and pollinators and endanger pollination services. We investigated the independent effects of these drivers on pollination of young cherry trees in a landscape-scale experiment. We included (i) isolation ...

The pollination of Aristolochia involves the temporary confinement of visitors inside the flower. A literature review has shown that some species are visited by one or a few dipteran families, while others are visited by a wider variety of dipterans, but only some of these are effective pollinators. We observed flowering phenology and temporal patterns of pollinator attendance in diverse popula...

Male-male competition in plants is thought to exert selection on flower morphology and on the temporal presentation of pollen. Theory suggests that a plant's pollen dosing strategy should evolve to match the abundance and pollen transfer efficiency of its pollinators. Simultaneous pollen presentation should be favored when pollinators are infrequent or efficient at delivering the pollen they re...

Legumes are bee-pollinated, but to a different extent. The importance of the plant-pollinator interplay (PPI), in flowering crops such as legumes lies in a combination of the importance of pollination for the production service and breeding strategies, plus the increasing urgency in mitigating the decline of pollinators through the development and implementation of conservation measures. To rea...

Diptera are one of the three largest and most diverse animal groups in the world. As an often neglected but important group of pollinators, they play a significant role in agrobiodiversity and the biodiversity of plants everywhere. Flies are present in almost all habitats and biomes and for many medicinal, food and ornamental plants, pollinating flies guarantee or enhance seed and fruit product...