Research in New Phytologist reveals the first example of a flower that mimics figs to deceive fig-pollinating wasps into pollinating it.
The flower, a type of milkweed called Heterostemma ficoides , tricks Kradibia wasps into pollinating it, while also attracting Megaseli a flies. While the flies could complete their life cycle on H. ficoides flowers, the wasps could not, indicating that the flowers uses a combination of mutualism (with the flies) and deception (with the wasps) to thrive.
“The mimic H. ficoides not only strikingly resembles figs in appearance but also produces similar chemical cues,” said corresponding author Aroonrat Kidyoo, PhD, of Chulalongkorn University, in Thailand. “Our findings show how a single flower can integrate two contrasting pollination strategies—deception and mutualism—to exploit two very different pollinators.”
URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.71480
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New Phytologist is an international journal publishing outstanding original research in plant science and its applications. Research falls into five sections: Physiology & Development, Environment, Interaction, Evolution, and Transformative Plant Biotechnology. Topics covered range from intracellular processes through to global environmental change. New Phytologist is owned by the New Phytologist Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of plant science.
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New Phytologist
Fake figs, fooled fig wasps and rewarded phorid flies: brood-site mimicry and mutualism in Heterostemma ficoides (Apocynaceae)
9-Sep-2026