REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL WEBINAR ON FLOWER POLLINATOR INTERACTIONS ORGANIZED BY GREEN ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF LIFESCIENCES ON 26 SEPTEMBER 2020

 The Department of Life Sciences, along with the Green Army organized an international webinar on flower pollinator interactions. The event was held on 26th September 2020 at 6 PM through Google Meet platform and streamed on YouTube. The speaker was Dr. Annemarie Heiduk a postdoctoral scientist from the School of Life sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She is an expert on the chemistry and fly-pollination mechanism in the genus Ceropegia (Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae). She spoke about the specialization of floral scents that attract fly pollinators using unique chemical mimicry strategies. In one of the species of Ceropegia, Ceropegia sandersonii, which grows in Kwazulu-Natal area in South Africa, the pollinators are kleptoparasites, i.e., they steal the food from other arthropods like spiders. Therefore, Ceropegia sandersonii has evolved chemical compounds that mimic the compound emitted by the dead insects to attract its pollinators. This method of pollination is termed as kleptomyophily. This talk was fascinating and introduced the students to the world of pollination ecology. This virtual event was attended by about 150 participants and there was an intense discussion with the speaker.