Cantharophilia
As Cantharophilie or Coleopterophilie is called the pollination of flowering plants by beetles . Plants that are pollinated in this way are also called beetle flowers.
Beetle pollination was considered the original form of pollination for a while. However, this view has been deviated from, since the beetle pollination of the basal angiosperms is more derived. In the case of beetle pollination, one cannot speak of coevolution , since the beetles have hardly adapted to the respective partner, only the plants.
Pollination by carrion beetles (Necrocoleopterophilia) is a sub-form .
Characteristics and requirements of the beetle
Beetles have been known since the Permian (approx. 280 million years). Pollinating beetles all come from the so-called polyphaga group . They use both the nectar and the pollen in the flowers . The pollen can either be bitten into with their chewing-biting mouthparts, or the contents are released through the apertures of the pollen grain in the stomach. The indigestible exine is eliminated. The nectar is partly absorbed by capillary tufts of hair on the mouthparts.
The visual sense of beetles is relatively weak, but they can recognize colors and shapes. However, the sense of smell is more important.
Beetles often use flowers or inflorescences as a place for copulation, egg-laying and shelter, e.g. B. at night.
Among the flower-visiting beetles one finds representatives from the families of jewel beetles , soft beetles , longhorn beetles , gloss beetles , scarab beetles and 9 other families.
Characteristics of the cantharophilic plants
Because of the beetles ' chewing and biting mouthparts, the beetle flowers are often severely damaged. As a result, reproductive organs ( stamens and carpels ) are often present in plurality. The beetles' good sense of smell has evolved plants to adapt so that they often smell fruity or fecal-like.
In the case of beetle-pollinated plants, a distinction is made between generalists (not necessarily pollinated by beetles), weak specialists and strong specialists.
Generalists can be found worldwide and often have simple open flowers or inflorescences. These include, for example, the water lily family (Nymphaeaceae).
Weak specialists are particularly widespread in the southeastern Mediterranean region as far as Iran and also in the sand-plain fynbos in South Africa , where up to 30 percent of flowering plants are cantharophilic. They are also characterized by the shape of the flower's bowl, but they also have colored marks that often imitate a copulation partner. One speaks of a 'painted bowl'. These include various representatives of the lily family (Liliaceae) in the broader sense, such as the tulip .
Strong specialists can be found above all in the tropics and there v. a. in the so-called dipterocarp forests in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. The cantharophilic flowers and inflorescences there are mostly so-called 'chamber blossoms'. They temporarily or permanently form chambers in which the beetles are kept captive. Chamber flowers formed from flowers are mostly found among the basal angiosperms ( ANITA-Clade , Magnoliidae ). Chamber flowers formed from inflorescences , find u. a. in the arum family (Araceae), palm family (Arecaceae) and Cyclanthaceae .
meaning
Even if the beetle pollination is little known, it is quite important, also economically. So palms , like the oil palm and the date palm, are pollinated by beetles . The edible annon , also known as the scaly apple, is pollinated by beetles.
literature
- Stephen L. Buchmann, Gary Paul Nabhan: The forgotten pollinators . Island Press , Washington 1997, ISBN 1-55963-353-0 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Theodor CH Cole: Dictionary of Biology. 4th edition, Springer, 2015, ISBN 978-3-642-55327-1 , p. 138.
- ↑ Michael G. Simpson: Plant Systemetics. Academic Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-12-644460-5 , p. 468.