A Unique Pollination Mechanism
A type of Japanese dogsbane, Vincetoxicum nakaianum, releases a scent identical to the distress signal of wounded ants, attracting scavenging flies that pollinate it.
Botanist Ko Mochizuki of the University of Tokyo discovered this phenomenon after noticing clouds of grass flies around the plant's flowers.
The plant's odor is a near-perfect chemical match to the distress signals released by injured ants.
Experiments revealed that this trick dupes the flies into visiting and inadvertently pollinating the blooms.
The summary of this discovery is: Author's summary: Flies pollinate a Japanese flower that smells like injured ants.
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