A Unique Pollination Mode of Spuriomitella Observed in Japan’s Tohoku Region

抄録

Spuriomitella integripetala is a monotypic species endemic to Japan that recently separated from the genus Mitella sensu lato. Although fungus gnats of the genus Boletina have been reported as its principal pollinators of the species, no detailed studies have compared pollination in S. integripetala to that in Asimitellaria, another well-studied genus that also separated from Mitella sensu lato. In this study, we characterized the pollination system of S. integripetala using floral volatile analyses, time-lapse photography, and floral visitor collection in Japan’s Tohoku region, where the pollination ecology of this species has not been previously studied.