April 6, 2012

expose-the-light:

Ways to Lure a Lover, Orchid-Style

#3. Gimme Shelter

Male euglossine bees collect fragrances from flowers. “The males with the most complex array of fragrances get all the ladies,” says Mirenda. But when the bees land on male Catasetum orchids, they also get a swift wallop on the head. “The flowers basically mug their pollinator by shooting really large pollinia at them when they touch a little trigger switch in the flower,” says Mirenda.

After being whacked, as a reaction, the bees retreat to shelter—in this case, to the Catasetum’s female flowers (above). The helmet-like flowers, found in Central America, actually resemble the nests that the bees build. There, while feeding on nectar, the bees deposit the pollen.

This reblog was originally snake-long, so I chopped it down. But I beseech you to click through to the full article and read up on some of this stuff—orchids can be downright dastardly. I beseech you. —MN

(via scinerds)

4:01pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZV1L5yJCEyyc
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Filed under: orchids photography botany horticulture 
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    Ways to Lure a Lover, Orchid-Style 1. Camouflaging Itself as an Insect Orchids of the genus Psychopsis are often called...
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    Cool! Orchids are highly specialized, which is awesome, but unfortunately makes them more sensitive to habitat loss and...
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    flower porn
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