Deceitful lily fools flies: Solomon's lily imitates a yeasty odor to lure vinegar flies into a trap
Thursday, October 7, 2010 - 12:00
in Biology & Nature
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have solved a case of fraud that has been pending for 40 million years. Arum palaestinum, also called the Solomon's lily, attracts drosophilids (vinegar flies) as pollinators by emitting odor molecules that resemble those produced during alcoholic fermentation of rotting fruit initiated by yeast.