The Hidden Diptera Diversity in <i>Aristolochia</i> Trap‐Flowers: Revealing the Identity of Pollinators Through Taxonomic Knowledge

ABSTRACT Although Diptera is one of the most diverse insect orders with a high potential for pollinating plants, it remains poorly studied and neglected. This is partly due to limited taxonomic efforts in species identification. For instance, despite being primary pollinators of trap flowers, species‐level identification in these systems remains scarce. To highlight this taxonomic impediment, we reviewed the diversity of Diptera pollinators found on trap flowers of Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae), a genus exclusively pollinated by flies. We recorded the number of morphospecies identified at the order, family, genus, and species levels across Aristolochia populations and calculated the percentage of species‐level identification for each population. To propose a solution to the taxonomic impediment, we used data from an Aristolochia esperanzae population, comparing the taxonomic refinement without and with taxonomist collaboration. Our review yielded 531 Diptera records from 40 populations across 23 Aristolochia species. Of these, 1.9% were identified at the order, 41% at the family, 35.8% at the genus, and only 21.3% at the species levels. The mean percentage of species‐level identification for the populations was 34.11%, with 40% of populations showing &lt; 5% of species identified. Overall, 43 families, 109 genera, and 61 species of Diptera were recorded as potential pollinators of Aristolochia . Our case study demonstrated that collaboration with taxonomists improved taxonomic refinement, particularly at the genus and species levels, with this latter rising from 0% to 38.8%. This collaboration also enabled the identification of main pollinators of A. esperanzae , which belong to Ulidiidae, a little‐known pollinator family. This study highlights a substantial taxonomic impediment in Diptera pollinators of Aristolochia , which may limit our understanding of their role in plant pollination. Additionally, we demonstrate the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration with insect taxonomists to improve our comprehension of biological and ecological patterns involving the highly diverse yet less‐known dipteran pollinators.