Molecular analysis of orchid pollinaria and pollinaria-remains found on insects

Direct observations of pollinator visits to orchids are often difficult and time consuming, especially in orchids with a deceptive pollination system where seed set is typically pollinator-limited. This lack of direct observa tions greatly inhibits our understanding of orchid-pollinator relationships and especially the degree of pollinator-specificity. Here we describe a mo lecular approach to the study of orchid-pollinator relationships based on t he analysis of DNA recovered from pollinaria found on insects. The insects were collected from nectar-rich plants flowering near natural orchid popula tions, or taken from museum collections. Sequence analysis of the nuclear r ibosomal ITS region allowed the identification of the orchid species or spe cies-group from which the pollinaria originated. Four out of eight orchid-p ollinator relationships established with this approach have not been report ed previously, which highlights the value of molecular tools for the study of orchid pollination biology.