This suggests these carnivorous plants are using alternative mechanisms in addition to spatial and temporal separation to accomplish pollinator-prey discrimination 13, 14.

In the majority of studies on carnivorous plants with various flower-trap arrangements, there is evidence that the plants tend to spare their pollinators because very few are captured on traps 11, 12. However, in some carnivorous plants such spatial separation is minimal and temporal separation does not occur, therefore in these cases the two mechanisms would not be effective in minimizing pollinator-prey conflict. It has been proposed that in some species this conflict could be alleviated by significant spatial separation between the trapping surfaces and the flowers or by temporal separation where prey-catching does not function while the plant is flowering 9, 10. This conflict has been demonstrated in the carnivorous plant Pinguicula vallisnerifolia (Grasilla) where frequent capture of pollinators resulted in pollen limitation 8. The dual reliance of carnivorous plants on insects as a source of nutrition and as pollinators can become problematic if feeding on pollinators results in pollen losses and reduces pollen transfer (pollen limitation), which has been defined as a pollinator-prey conflict 6, 7. While these plants benefit from insect prey, the plants also need to attract and spare insects that transfer pollen between flowers of individual plants to ensure outcrossing.

Carnivorous plants utilize various trapping mechanisms to capture a wide variety of insect prey that serve as an important nutritional supplement 3, 4, 5. Of more than 600 species of carnivorous plants represented in almost every region of the world, about 38% of the species are found in Australia and New Zealand, including several species of sundews in Drosera 1, 2. This is the first scientific report to demonstrate that carnivorous plants utilize visual, spatial and chemical signals to spare flower visitors while trapping prey insects. The floral odour attracted both pollinator and prey insects, while trap odour only attracted prey. In this species we identified chemical signals emanating from flowers that comprised an eight-component blend, while the plantвЂ™s traps emitted a unique four-component blend. auriculata have flowers that are adjacent to their traps.

However, behavioural experiments indicated white colour and spatial separation between flowers and traps aid in reducing pollinator entrapment while capturing prey. arcturi, no volatiles were detected from either their flowers or traps that could serve as kairomone attractants for insects. In addition, we collected odours from flowers and traps of each carnivorous species in order to identify volatile chemicals that are attractive or repellent to pollinators and prey insects. We examined whether separation between flowers and traps of the carnivorous sundew species or pollinator preferences for colours of flowers enable these plants to spare pollinators. Insect-pollinated carnivorous plants are expected to have higher fitness if they resolve pollinator-prey conflicts by sparing insects pollinating their flowers while trapping prey insects.

Prey meaning