The Diptera are the second most important order among flower-visiting (anthophilous) and flower-pollinating insects worldwide. Their taxonomic diversity ranges from Nematocera to Brachycera, including most families within the suborders. Especially important are Syrphidae, Bombyliidae, and Muscoidea. Other families, especially of small flies, are less appreciated and often overlooked for their associations with flowers. We have compiled records of their flower visitations to show that they may be more prevalent than usually thought. Our knowledge of anthophilous Diptera needs to be enhanced by future research concerning (i) the significance of nocturnal Nematocera and acalypterate muscoids as pollinators, (ii) the extent to which the relatively ineffective pollen-carrying ability of some taxa can be compensated by the abundance of individuals, and (iii) the role of Diptera as pollinators of the first flowering plants (Angiospermae) by using phylogenetic and palaeontological evidence. Specializations in floral relationships involve the morphology of Diptera, especially of their mouthparts, nutritional requirements, and behaviour, as well as concomitant floral attributes. The South African flora has the most highly specialized relations with dipterous pollinators, but in arctic and alpine generalist fly–flower relations are important in pollination and fly nutrition.

Flies and flowers: taxonomic diversity of anthophiles and pollinators

Relationship between flowering time and fruit set of the entomophilous alpine shrub, Rhododendron aureum (Ericaceae), inhabiting snow patches

Flowering phenology, fruit set, and pollinator frequency of the ericaceous alpine dwarf shrub, Rhododendron aureum, were compared among three quadrats arranged along a snowmelt gradient on a slope. Bagging and self-pollination experiments showed that R. aureum was physiologically self-compatible, but pollinator visitation highly enhanced fruit set. Depending on the lateness of snowmelt, flowering time varied from mid-June to late July among quadrats. Pollinator visitation increased as the flowering season progressed, and fruit set was significantly higher in the quadrat with latest snowmelt. Emasculation experiments suggested that later flowering might promote cross-pollination. Thus, later flowering was advantageous for effective pollination. On the other hand, later-flowering plants often failed to set fruits because of the onset of autumn frost and snow before fruit maturation.

Relationship between flowering time and fruit set of the entomophilous alpine shrub

Leaves and shoots of blueberries(Vaccinium spp.) and huckleberries (Gaylussacia sp.) when infected by ascospores of Monilinia spp. become ultraviolet-reflective and fragrant and secrete sugars at their lesions. Insects that normally pollinate these hosts are attracted to the discolored leaves, ingest the sugars, and transmit conidia to their flowers, resulting in sclerotia (mummy-berry) formation.

Floral Mimicry Induced by Mummy-Berry Fungus Exploits Host's Pollinators as Vectors.

Comparative studies of the reproductive biology and pollination ecology of closely related species allow us to test several ideas related to the evolution of selfing taxa from outcrossing ancestors. The existence of closely related species in the same habitat provides a particularly useful opportunity to examine this issue. A variety of floral traits likely to be associated with the reproductive system of three sympatric Vaccinium species (V. myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea, and V. uliginosum) were quantified in a heathland in the Upper Ardennes, Belgium. These traits included the length and width of the corolla, the number and size of the anthers, the number of pollen tetrads and ovules, and the length of the style. Pollen to ovule ratios suggest a mixed mating system in the three species. The greater pollen to ovule ratio and stigma-anther separation in V. vitis-idaea suggest that it functions more as an outcrosser than the two congeners. The effects of caging, emasculation, and artificial pollination on fruit and seed set differed among years and among the three species. Supplementary pollination increased fruit set and fruit characteristics (particularly seed number) relative to natural pollination in the three species. The three species showed a varied but poor capacity to self in the absence of pollinators. Seed set per fruit was lower in the spontaneously selfed flowers in comparison with hand-crossed pollinated flowers in V. myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea but not in V. uliginosum. This higher ability to self in V. uliginosum indicates a lower capacity to self in the absence of pollinators. However, all the three species were at least partially self-compatible. Together the floral traits and selfing ability suggest that the polyploid V. uliginosum appears to be more highly selfing than the two diploids, particularly V. vitis-idaea.

Floral and pollination biology of three sympatric Vaccinium (Ericaceae) species in the Upper Ardennes, Belgium

The seed set of eight bog plants in the Ericaceae family was reduced by excluding insect flower visitors even though hand-pollination tests showed that all eight species were self-compatible. Floral morphology evidently minimizes the possibility that pollen will be transferred from anther to stigma in the absence of insect visitation. Bees were the most important flower visitors, collecting nectar and (or) pollen. The attractiveness (nectar and (or) pollen extractable per minute) of the ericad flowers varied considerably. This variability would promote forager specialization and flowering-timing diversification if the ratio of insect visitors to flowers was low.

Bog ericad flowers: self-compatibility and relative attractiveness to bees

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Bog ericad flowers: self-compatibility and relative attractiveness to bees