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​Jordan R. Brock

Camelina biotic interactions

2/21/2016

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Many interesting phenomena can be observed in the field; some are well documented, others unknown. As far as I know, little is known about biotic interactions with Camelina species, so I'll share of few of my observations from the field:
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These wasps have built a nest on the stem of a (highly) mature Camelina laxa plant in Armenia. I had noticed this a couple of times, but luckily there were always plenty of other plants to sample in the area so I never had to risk a confrontation. It makes me wonder, though, why these wasps chose such a lanky, annual plant to build a nest on, as opposed to a more permanent structure. I suppose this could be an example of an accidental commensalism; the Camelina is protected from herbivores, and the wasps get a nice (?) nesting place. 
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Spiders especially love to set up shop on Camelina. We frequently found spider webs covering the branches and infloresences of Camelina, and webs spanned several plants to form an effective insect net. Camelina's dispersal mechanism of simply dropping seeds in the vicinity often leads to small patches of related plants growing in close proximity to each other, making a perfect scaffold for these spiders. 
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Some (Carpocoris?) shield bugs hanging out, in fact, they seemed to enjoy sitting on Camelina fruits. But why? It didn't appear that they were feeding through the fruit valves, although this would be the most obvious explanation. 
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Despite the many defense mechanisms of Camelina (rigid trichomes and glucosinolates), some herbivores are just too formidable.
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