Gall midges pollination data in Schisandra sphenanthera flowers

Roles of flower color and scent in gall midge pollination: a case study in Schisandraceae plant
Shi-Rui Gan, Wei Du, and Xiao-Fan Wang

Field observations, behavioral bioassays via Y-tube and “flight box” experiments were performed to investigate the roles of floral scent and color in attracting gall midges.

1. Field visiting frequency: 10 flowers of each phenotype (Yf = yellow flower; Ym = yellow male flowers, and Rm = red male flowers) were observed randomly in the field at hourly intervals both day and night on 13 and 14 May, 2013, and 15 and 16 May, 2017.

2. Flight box tests: The tests were performed in two boxes, one was made with transparent polyethylene terephthalate (TPT box) (30 cm × 15 cm × 15 cm) and the other was a non-transparent box made with corrugated paper (NT box) (30 cm × 15.5 cm × 15.5 cm). In this box, midges could detect both visual and olfactory cues of flowers; when the TPT box was placed into the NT box (Figure 3b), where midges could only sense olfactory cues of flowers. 19–57 midges were used and 10 groups of insects were used for each treatment.

3, Y-tube tests: To test if midges are attracted by floral scents, Y-tube olfactometer experiments were conducted in the dark and at room temperature. (Yf = yellow flower; Ym = yellow male flowers, and Rm = red male flowers)