The seeds of a South African plant (pictured, top) trick dung beetles into dispersing them by mimicking the appearance and odour of antelope faeces (pictured, bottom).
Jeremy Midgley at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and his colleagues observed dung beetles (Epirinus flagellatus) rolling seeds from the plant Ceratocaryum argentum and burying them underground. The authors then placed 195 seeds at 31 separate spots, and returned later to find that nearly half of the seeds had been dispersed.
Chemical analysis showed that the seeds emit volatile molecules similar to those in antelope dung.
The beetles had not nibbled on the seeds or deposited any eggs on them, suggesting that the insects are not aware of the deception until after they have planted the seeds. The beetles receive no apparent reward from this activity, the authors report.
Nature Plants http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.141 (2015)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dung-like seeds dupe dung beetles. Nature 526, 167 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/526167e
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/526167e
