|University of Wisconsin-Madison | Plant Growth Facilities |
Botany Greenhouse
The Agents of Evolution -Pollination Syndromes - MothMoth pollination (Phalaenophily)
Bat, Bee, Beetle, Bird, Butterfly, Fly, Moth, Snail&Slug, Water and Wind Flowers that have coevolved with diurnal moths and butterflies are similar in many respects to bee flowers. Like bees these insects are guided to their respective flower by a combination of sight and smell. At least some species of butterfly, however, may be able to see red as well as blue and yellow, and some butterfly flowers are red and orange.
Most moths are night fliers, and the typical moth flowers as seen, for example, in several species of tobacco (Nicotiana) is white and has a heavy fragrance, a sweet penetrating odor, that is emitted only after sunset. Other moth flowers, although not white, display colors that stand out against a dark background in the evening (for example, the yellow-flowered species of evening primrose, Oenothera, or the pink-flowered amaryllis, Amaryllis belladonna.
The nectary of a moth or butterfly flower is found at the base of a long slender corolla tube or a spur, where it is usually accessible only to the long tongues of moths and butterflies. Hawkmoths, for instance, do not usually enter flowers, as bees do, but hover above them, inserting their long tongues into the floral tube. Consequently, hawkmoth flowers do not have the landing platforms, traps, and elaborate internal machinery seen in some of the bee flowers. the more generalized moth-flower relationships, which involve smaller moths that do not consume nearly as much energy as the hawkmoths, also involve shorter corolla tubes and often smaller flowers, over which the moths scramble. One of the most specialized moth-flower relationships is between Yucca moth (Tegeticula yucasella) and Yucca. The female moth visits the creamy white flowers at night and gathers pollen, which it rolls into a tight little ball and carries in its specialized mouth parts to another flower. In the second flower, it pierces the ovary wall with its long ovipositor and lays a batch of eggs among the ovules. It then packs the sticky mass of pollen through the openings of the stigma. Moth larvae and seeds develop simultaneously, with the larvae feeding on the developing yucca seeds. When the larvae are fully developed, they gnaw their way through the ovary wall and lower themselves to the ground, where they pupate until the yuccas bloom again. It is estimated that only about 20 percent of the seeds are eaten.
Current Accessions:
· Adansonia spp. - {Malvaceae}
· Angraecum sesquipedale - {Orchidaceae}
· Plumeria rubra - Nosegay, Frangipani {Apocynaceae}
. Nicotiana spp. - Tobacco & Flowering Tobacco { Solanaceae}
