Caught on camera: The raspy cricket (Glomeremus sp) carrying pollen on its head (Credit: Michenau and Fournel Solving the mystery (Image: Michenau and Fournel)
Crickets are usually known for destroying plants, so researchers were stunned to see one give an orchid a helping hand – or head – on the island of Réunion. A short video, released today, proves for the first time that crickets can pollinate flowers.
Claire Micheneau and Jacques Fournel of the agricultural research institute CIRAD and the University of La Réunion shot the video in 2008. Seeking to discover what was responsible for pollinating the rare orchid Angraecum cadetii, they set up a night-vision camera to monitor the flower.
The moths that pollinate Angraecum orchids on Madagascar, where it is also endemic, are not found on Réunion, yet the researchers had seen clear signs that the Réunion flowers were being pollinated.
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The camera captured an unknown species of raspy cricket drinking one flower’s nectar, before crawling onto another flower with lumps of pollen stuck to its head.
“My studies have shown that the raspy cricket is a surprisingly efficient pollinator, with higher rates of pollination and fruit set in Angraecum cadetii than those recorded in its bird-pollinated sister-species,” says Micheneau.
Journal reference: Annals of Botany, DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcp299 (in press)
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