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| Flowering Achillea millefolium. Photo J. Kuppler |
by Anne-Amélie C. Larue-Kontić & Robert R. Junker
Floral scents serve multiple functions in the interactions with organisms. It
has been hypothesized that terpenoids often serve defensive functions. Flowers
of Achillea millefolium (Asteraceae) emit
scent bouquets dominated by terpenoids. These flowers are mainly visited by
flies and beetles, whereas bumblebees, common visitors at other Asteraceae, are
absent from A. millefolium flowers. In
order to test whether terpenoids explain the absence of bumblebees on these
flowers, we inhibited the biochemical pathways of mono- and sesquiterpenoids of
hydroponic plants in the lab and conducted choice tests with bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) and flies (Lucilia sericata)...
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publication in JPE.
