Flower odor in primitive pollination system and its ecological function

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Flower odors of cherimoya and atemoya were investigated. These fruit trees are known to be pollinated by fruit-eating nitidulid beetles. GC and GC/MS revealed that most of the floral odor were esters. As esters are main components of fruits odor, it was suggested that Annona spp. flowers mimic fruits chemically to attract frugivorous nitidulid beetles as pollinators. A semiconductor gas sensor was used to clarify temporal change of odor intensity. In cherimoya, two peaks were found in the evening of female stage and male stage. In atemoya, peaks were found in the morning and evening, suggesting 12h cycle of floral activity.