What are the cleverest pollination strategies in the plant kingdom?
Some orchids trick wasps into mating with them by mimicking the shape and scent of female insects.
The answer
Plants have evolved remarkably deceptive and creative pollination strategies. Hammer orchids produce a pheromone-laden lip that resembles a female thynnid wasp so convincingly that male wasps attempt to mate with it, picking up pollen in the process. Corpse flowers produce the stench of rotting flesh to attract carrion beetles and flies. The bucket orchid traps bees in a fluid-filled chamber and forces them through a narrow exit that glues pollen sacs to their backs. Fig trees have an exclusive partnership with specific fig wasp species in a relationship so specialized that neither can reproduce without the other. These coevolutionary relationships have driven much of the extraordinary diversity of flowering plants.
Source: Trends in Ecology & Evolution
- pollination
- orchids
- coevolution
More from Nature & Wildlife
- How intelligent are octopuses?
- How do birds navigate thousands of miles during migration?
- What is bioluminescence and why do organisms glow?
- How do trees communicate through underground fungal networks?
- Do animals dream?
- Why are coral reefs dying around the world?