''Dasyscolia ciliata'' is a species of

scoliid wasp The Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, are a family of wasps comprising about 560 species worldwide. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated. Males are more slender and elongated than ...

found throughout the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. It is the only species in the genus ''Dasyscolia''. It is the only known pollinator of the European '' Ophrys speculum''. The male wasp is tricked into pollinating the ''

Ophrys The genus ''Ophrys'' is a large group of orchids from the alliance Orchis in the subtribe Orchidinae. They are widespread across much of Europe, North Africa, Caucasus, the Canary Islands, and the Middle East as far east as Turkmenistan. These ...

'' orchid via

pseudocopulation Pseudocopulation is a behavior similar to Copulation (zoology), copulation that serves a reproductive function for one or both participants but does not involve actual sexual union between the individuals. It is most generally applied to a pollin ...

. The orchid's

Pouyannian mimicry Pouyannian mimicry is a form of mimicry in plants that deceives an insect into pseudocopulation, attempting to copulate with a flower. The flower mimicry, mimics a potential female mate of a male insect, which then serves the plant as a pollina ...

has the flower effectively mimicking the female wasp in appearance and scent.

References

External links

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Dasyscolia ciliata
– Encyclopedia of Life Scoliidae Orchid pollinators Insects described in 1787 Monotypic Hymenoptera genera {{Apocrita-stub