ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2018
Morphological Complexity as a Floral Signal: From Perception by Insect Pollinators to Co-Evolutionary Implications.
Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Learning to be unfaithful - preferences and flower constancy of Eristalis tenax (Syrphidae) decrease with experience.The Journal of experimental biology · 2026Article
- Multifunctional Roles of Extrafloral Nectaries in Shaping Plant-Insect Interactions.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Biotic and Abiotic Drivers of Phenotypic Diversity in the GenusPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Floral Biology, Breeding System and Conservation Implications for the Azorean EndemicPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Synergistic Effects of Flower Color and Mechanical Barriers on Pollinator Selection Within the Papilionoideae of Fabaceae.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- What maintains variation in flower accessibility to pollinators in plant communities? A simulation study.BMC ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Evolution and development of complex floral displays.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2024Review
- Roles of theHorticulture research · 2024Article
- Pollen nutrition structures bee and plant community interactions.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Article
- Delphinieae flowers originated from the rewiring of interactions between duplicated and diversified floral organ identity and symmetry genes.The Plant cell · 2023Article
- Can sociality facilitate learning of complex tasks? Lessons from bees and flowers.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Differences in EAG Response and Behavioral Choices between Honey Bee and Bumble Bee to Tomato Flower Volatiles.Insects · 2022Article
- The role of colour patterns for the recognition of flowers by bees.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Article
- The Ability of Bumblebees Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae) to Detect Floral Humidity is Dependent Upon Environmental Humidity.Environmental entomology · 2022Article
- The involvement of a floral scent in plant-honeybee interaction.Die Naturwissenschaften · 2022Article
- Reduced visitation to buzz-pollinatedEcology and evolution · 2022Article
- Floral Complexity Traits as Predictors of Plant-Bee Interactions in a Mediterranean Pollination Web.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Implications of region-specific gene expression for development of the partially fused petunia corolla.The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology · 2019Article
- Honeybees prefer novel insect-pollinated flower shapes over bird-pollinated flower shapes.Current zoology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Morphologically complex flowers are characterized by bilateral symmetry, tube-like shapes, deep corolla tubes, fused petals, and/or poricidal anthers, all of which constrain the access of insect visitors to floral nectar and pollen rewards. Only a subset of potential pollinators, mainly large bees, learn to successfully forage on such flowers. Thus, complexity may comprise a morphological filter that restricts the range of visitors and thereby increases food intake for successful foragers. Such pollinator specialization, in turn, promotes flower constancy and reduces cross-species pollen transfer, providing fitness benefits to plants with complex flowers. Since visual signals associated with floral morphological complexity are generally honest (i.e., indicate food rewards), pollinators need to perceive and process them. Physiological studies show that bees detect distant flowers through long-wavelength sensitive photoreceptors. Bees effectively perceive complex shapes and learn the positions of contours based on their spatial frequencies. Complex flowers require long handling times by naive visitors, and become highly profitable only for experienced foragers. To explore possible pathways towards the evolution of floral complexity, we discuss cognitive mechanisms that potentially allow insects to persist on complex flowers despite low initial foraging gains, suggest experiments to test these mechanisms, and speculate on their adaptive value.
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