Pseudocopulation
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Pseudocopulation describes behaviors similar to copulation that serve a reproductive function for one or both participants but do not involve actual sexual union between the individuals. It is most generally applied to a pollinator attempting to copulate with a flower. Some flowers mimic a potential female mate visually, but the key stimuli are often chemical and tactile.[1] This form of mimicry in plants has been titled Pouyannian mimicry.[2] Orchids commonly achieve reproduction in this manner, secreting chemicals from glands called osmophores located in the sepals, petals, or labellum, that are indistinguishable from the insect's natural pheromones. The pollinator then has a pollinia attached to its body, which it transfers to the stigma of another flower when if it attempts another 'copulation'. Pollinators are often bees and wasps of the order Hymenoptera, and flies.
Pseudocopulation is also used to describe close physical contact between mating animals which have their eggs externally fertilized. Frogs provide one such case, with the male releasing sperm as the female discharges her eggs.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ van der Pijl, L., Dodson, C. H. (1966) Orchid Flowers; Their Pollination and Evolution. Coral Gables, FL: Univ. Miami Press
- ^ Pasteur, Georges (1982). “A classificatory review of mimicry systems”. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 13: 169–199.
- ^ pseudocopulation. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 19, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9061690
[edit] External links
Pollination through Pseudo Copulation at The Culture Sheet
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