![Natural Science News](images/logo.png)
Onions Attract Helpful Wasps with Their Floral Scents
Jim Crocker
26th May, 2024
![Onions Attract Helpful Wasps with Their Floral Scents](https://static.naturalsciencenews.com/images/articles/2747_main.jpg)
Image Source: Natural Science News, 2024
Key Findings
- The study by ICAR found that onion flowers use specific floral scents to attract pollinators, particularly scoliid wasps
- Key aromatic compounds in onion floral scents include o-cymene, cis-β-ocimene, benzaldehyde, and allo-ocimene, which elicit responses from scoliid wasps
- Unlike other wasp-pollinated flowers, onion nectar is dominated by hexose sugars rather than sucrose, potentially attracting a wider range of pollinators
AgricultureEcologyPlant Science
References
Main Study
1) Onion (Allium cepa L.) Attracts Scoliid Wasps by Means of Generalist Floral Volatiles.
Published 25th May, 2024
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-024-01513-x
Related Studies
2) Synthetic grape volatiles attract mated Lobesia botrana females in laboratory and field bioassays.
3) Wild pollinators enhance fruit set of crops regardless of honey bee abundance.