title: Pollination of Vietnamese Aspidistra xuansonensis (Asparagaceae) by female Cecidomyiidi flies: larvae of pollinator feed on fertile pollen in anthers of anthetic bisexual flowers.
abstract: •
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Aspidistra is a species-rich, herbaceous monocot genus of tropical Southeast Asia. Most species are recently discovered and apparently endangered, though virtually nothing is known about their biology. Species of the genus are primarily distinguished using flower morphology, which is enormously diverse. However, the pollination process has not been directly observed in the center of diversity of the genus (N Vietnam and S China). Indirect and partly direct data on the only widely cultivated species of the genus (A. elatior) placed it among angiosperms with the most unusual pollination biology, though these data are highly controversial, suggesting pollen transfer by mollusks, crustaceans, flies, or possibly tiny soil invertebrates such as collembolans.•
  
  
  METHODS
  Pollination of Aspidistra xuansonensis in the center of diversity of the genus was studied using visual observations and videos and light and scanning electron microscopy investigation of flowers and their pollinators. Pollinators and their larvae were molecularly barcoded.•
  
  
  RESULTS
  Aspidistra xuansonensis is pollinated by female cecidomyiid flies (gall midges). They oviposit on anthers, and larvae develop among the pollen mass. Molecular barcoding proved taxonomic identity of the larvae and the flies. The larvae neither damage floral parts nor cause gall formation, but feed on pollen grains by sucking out their content. The larvae move out of the flowers before decomposition starts. Carebara ants steal developing larvae from flowers but do not contribute to pollination.•
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More than one kind of myiophily is present in Aspidistra. Brood site pollination was documented for the first time in Aspidistra. The pollination system of A. xuansonensis differs from other kinds of brood site pollination in the exit of the larvae prior to the decomposition of floral parts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Higher Plants, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Scientific and Technological Center, CauGiay, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Nikolay A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Vislobokov
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia.
authors.forename: Tatiana V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Galinskaya
authors.affiliation: Botanical Garden, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia.
authors.forename: Galina V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Degtjareva
authors.affiliation: A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia.
authors.forename: Carmen M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Valiejo-Roman
authors.affiliation: A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia.
authors.forename: Tahir H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Samigullin
authors.affiliation: Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Scientific and Technological Center, CauGiay, Hanoi, Vietnam A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia.
authors.forename: Andrey N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Kuznetsov
authors.affiliation: Department of Higher Plants, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia.
authors.forename: Dmitry D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Sokoloff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants; D004175:Diptera; D005260:Female; D035264:Flowers; D007814:Larva; D019668:Liliaceae / Q000502:physiology*; D010058:Oviposition; D011058:Pollen; D054817:Pollination; D012098:Reproduction; D014744:Vietnam
keywords: Asparagaceae; Aspidistra; Cecidomyiidae; Vietnam; larvae; molecular barcoding; myiophily; oviposition; pollen-eating; pollination; tritrophic interactions