Short-term but not long-term patch avoidance in an orchid-pollinating solitary wasp

Abstract

The success of exploitative attraction of insect pollinators to rewardless flowers may depend on a constrained capacity for learning. In the case of sexually deceptive orchids, the extent to which pollinators can avoid dishonest signals through learning or adaptation is poorly known. We used field experiments with synthetic pheromone baits in concert with novel miniaturized marking techniques to investigate patterns of behavior and movement in Neozeleboria cryptoides, the wasp pollinator of the sexually deceptive orchid Chiloglottis trapeziformis. In trials of 4-and 60-min duration, visitation rates to synthetic sex pheromone declined rapidly after the first minute and remained low, suggesti..