Fritz Robert S, Morse Douglass H
Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, 20742, College Park, MD, USA.
Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, 02912, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Oecologia. 1981 Sep;50(3):316-319. doi: 10.1007/BF00344969.
Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) umbels and stems attended by ants (Lasius neoniger Emery and Tapinoma sessile (Say)) initiated significantly fewer pods and showed a trend to produce fewer mature pods than did umbels and stems not attended by ants. Since similar numbers of pollinia were inserted in ant-attended flowers, we hypothesize that ant-excluded flowers obtain more pollinia from other clones than do ant-attended flowers of this normally non-selfing species. If pollinators from other clones first visited flowers not depleted of nectar by ants, they could provide this source of foreign pollinia. Our experiments suggest that nocturnal noctuid and geometrid moths can provide these pollinia.
被蚂蚁（新黑褐蚁（Lasius neoniger Emery）和迟钝大头蚁（Tapinoma sessile (Say)））光顾的马利筋（叙利亚马利筋（Asclepias syriaca L.））伞形花序和茎干所形成的荚果显著少于未被蚂蚁光顾的伞形花序和茎干，且呈现出产生成熟荚果数量更少的趋势。由于在被蚂蚁光顾的花朵中插入的花粉块数量相似，我们推测，在这个通常不进行自花授粉的物种中，未被蚂蚁光顾的花朵比被蚂蚁光顾的花朵从其他克隆植株获得了更多的花粉块。如果来自其他克隆植株的传粉者首先访问未被蚂蚁消耗花蜜的花朵，那么它们就能提供这种外来花粉块的来源。我们的实验表明，夜间活动的夜蛾科和尺蛾科蛾类可以提供这些花粉块。
