Pollinator attraction in wasp-flowers

Abstract

Because little was known about the pollinator attracting floral signals that are used by flowers pollinated by social wasps, in my thesis I investigated in a comparative approach the floral cues, which are responsible for the specific attraction of social wasps to the flowers. I wanted to answer the question, if there is a wasp specific attractant that can be found in all wasp-flowers or if various wasp-flowers use different strategies to attract wasps. Furthermore I explored if there is a difference between orchids and non-orchids and between rewarding and deceptive wasp-flowers concerning the attractants used for the specific wasp attraction.