INSECT REPRODUCTION AND FLORAL FRAGRANCES: KEYS TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE ANGIOSPERMS?

Abstract
Summary: Pollination systems in extant archaic angiosperms and cycads share three important characteristics. Based on these, it is suggested that insect pollination evolved primarily through meshing of the sexual life cycles of phytophagous insects with flowers in which floral odors served as chemical cues for mating sites and food. Floral fragrances may have originated from chemicals serving as herbivore feeding deterrents.