Subscribers may be interested in a comment in a paper by D. C. Drummond and
J. Boorman in the current edition of the UK journal Entomologists Monthly
Magazine (July/August/September 2003. Volume 139: 163-166) entitled
"Further records of some Arum species and their insect visitors."
Some arums are well known for attracting large numbers of biting midges
(Ceratopogonidae). A specimen of Arum rupicola from Turkey which flowered
in an English garden in Surrey had over 11,000 midges (sic) trapped in the
base of its spathe, but there were also "10 Simulium ornatum".
The authors suggest that the mechanism that can attract thousands of insects
(the flowers don't seem to smell) is worth further investigation as possibly
offering some means of control.
Patrick Roper
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