Do sun orchids mimic buzz-pollinated plants? An experimental test of the adaptive significance of false anthers

Mimicry implies that an organism gains fitness by resembling a model species, and one example is rewardless plants that attract pollinators by resembling co-flowering species that provide rewards. While trait matching between mimic and model has been characterised in many cases of putative floral mimicry, few have demonstrated that resemblance is adaptive and dependent on model presence. 
Sun orchids (Thelymitra) are believed to mimic flowers of buzz-pollinated rewarding plants by displaying false anthers. To test the adaptive value of the false anthers we examined whether fruit production of T. crinita and T. macrophylla was reduced when anthers were experimentally removed or obscured, and whether the reduction was stronger when putative model plants were abundant. We also assessed visual flower similarity of both orchids and their putative model plants according to bee colour perception and identified shared pollinators and whether their behaviour on T. crinita was similar to tha..., 2.1 Study system
Thelymitra is a genus of over 100 nectarless orchid species primarily found in Australia. These terrestrial, perennial herbs have inconspicuous roots, oval-shaped tubers, and a single leaf near the base of the plant (Western Australian Herbarium, 1998). Most species within the genus are believed to be bee-pollinated via food deception, although some may be autogamous (Beardsell & Bernhardt, 1983; Edens-Meier et al., 2014). Unlike typical orchids, Thelymitra's labellum resembles the other petals, and flowers have an almost radially symmetric perianth. The flower's sexual parts are fused to a short column ending with a hood-like structure (mitra) or pseudanthery (Pridgeon et al., 2001; Fig. 1), hereafter ‘false anther’. Sun orchids, as their common name suggests, typically open their flowers in response to daylight, warm temperatures, and humidity. Here, we focus on two common species, T. macrophylla and T. crinita. The two species have similar flower morphology ..., # Do sun orchids mimic buzz-pollinated plants? An experimental test of the adaptive significance of false anthers

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.k98sf7mk5](10.5061/dryad.k98sf7mk5)

## Description of the data and file structure

Datasets are named in the file description and accompany the result section.

### Files and variables

#### File: Datafile_Thelymitra_crinita_anther_paint.xls

**Description:** Dataset of anther paint experiment on T. crinita.

##### Variables

* plant: number of plant ID
* flower: number of flowers per plant
* fruit: number of fruits per plant
* anther_painted: 0 for control and 1 for anther painted

#### File: Datafile_Thelymitra_macrophylla_anther_paint.xls

**Description:** Dataset of anther paint experiment on T. macrophylla.

##### Variables

* population: 1 for population 1 and 2 for population 2
* plant: number of plant ID
* flower: number of flowers per plant
* fruit: number of fruits per plant
* anther_painted: 0 for control and 1 for anther painted

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