Résumé
Traditionally recognized pollination syndromes are o en too broadly defi ned to represent the diversity of plantpollinator interactions, particularly in plants that deceptively attract insects by mimicking resources they seek. Within such interactions, we document a distinct but previously ill-defi ned deceptive pollination strategy in which plants exploit the protein-seeking behavior of females of anautogenous Diptera by olfactorily mimicking their insect prey. We show that this strategy characterizes at least 97 plant species from seven families, pollinated by females of three dipteran families, Ceratopogonidae, Chloropidae and Milichiidae. Comparison of fl oral odours based on compound identity and structural similarity revealed fl oral traits that characterize a hitherto undescribed pollination syndrome. Interestingly, related plants of three of these families emit a diff erent set of fl oral volatiles to attract fl ies of other families in brood-site mimicry pollination systems. Our fi ndings open new avenues, from both methodological and conceptual perspectives, for understanding the evolution of specialized pollination systems.