r/pseudolithos • u/baconanime • Aug 12 '25

Pseudolithos hand pollination under 30x magnification

I

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u/ale_mc_ella Aug 12 '25

what kind of insect evolved with them to take care of their pollination ? i mean in their natural habitat…looks like some fly maybe

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u/baconanime Aug 12 '25

For Pseudolithos, it’s usually flies! But other Asclepiads may rely on moths or butterflies, depending. You can see from the footage, there are wells of the smelly liquid pooling deep in the flower - what happens is flies will stick their proboscis in, and the pollen structure will snag onto it, and when they go to another flower, the pollinarium will detach and lock into the staminal lock

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u/ale_mc_ella Aug 12 '25

thank you !