Cycads lure thrips in, drive them out
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Male cycads, a plant group including firs and pines, actively participate in pollination by insects, researchers reported Friday in the journal Science.
The cycads produce cones that open and emit a fragrance that attracts insects called thrips, which enter the cones and become covered with pollen.
Then the male cycads heat up -- raising their temperature as much as 25 degrees -- and drive the thrips out. The thrips, looking for more cycads, notice the attractive scent of female cycads and enter their cones, bringing the male pollen to the female plants.
