200 million years ago before there were flowering plants, the vast majority of pollination was wind enabled. Plants with beautifully colored flowers, many with pleasing fragrances and providing nectar and pollen started to evolve to attract animal pollinators. This included mammals, birds and especially insects which co-evolved to become the main pollinators today. Margarethe will illustrate how flowers adapted many strange and interesting strategies to entice and sometimes trick these animal vectors into providing pollinating services.
Margarethe is a biologist, watercolor painter, and photographer originally from Germany where she received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biology. She is currently associated with the Entomology Department of the University of Arizona and is working on producing a photographic field guide to Arizona beetles with co-author Arthur Evans. For this purpose she has collected, identified and photographed (live) over 1800 Arizona Beetle species.
Painting of Sacred Datura & Sphinx moths © Margarethe Brummerman