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SEXUAL RESPONSE. "Among the oddities of pollination, various forms of sexual deception are perhaps the most unusual. The flowers of some species produce sex pheromone-like odors that attract particular species of male insects. The interaction is often species specific, at least locally. In the case of Orchid galileae, its halictid bee pollinators seem to be attracted by deceptive floral fragrances, but copulatory behavior during pollinating visits does not occur." https://lnkd.in/db9X2SK View in LinkedIn

"CHARLES DARWIN was the first to recognize that orchids offer superb cases for illuminating evolutionary processes, devoting an entire volume to the Various Contrivances by Which Orchids Are Fertilized by Insects." (1877). https://lnkd.in/dt8CgYk View in LinkedIn

ORCHID FUNGUS MIMESIS. "The floral parts of these flowers simulate fungi and emit mushroom-like odors. Fungus gnats are misled by a suite of cues so that they lay their eggs in the flower and pollinate it in the process. The flowers are inedible so the larvae eventually starve to death." https://lnkd.in/db9X2SK View in LinkedIn

ENGROSSED. "I was never more interested in any subject in my life than this of orchids." (Charles Darwin). https://lnkd.in/dQ3aG5K View in LinkedIn

OVER-SIMPLIFIED. "However, the plant-pollinator relationship is somewhat more complex because brood-site deception is not the only means of pollinator attraction. The flowers also produce nectar which is consumed by male and female flies, both of which pollinate the orchid." https://lnkd.in/db9X2SK View in LinkedIn

BROOD SITE SELECTION. "Several unrelated orchid genera have flowers that mimic larval food substrates that attract gravid insects. For example, the protuberances on the labellum of Epipactis consimilis are thought to mimic aphids which stimulate egg-laying behavior of aphidophagous syrphid flies." https://lnkd.in/db9X2SK View in LinkedIn

TERRITORIAL DEFENSE. "Some Oncidium species exploit territorial Centris bees. The flowers, usually produced on long panicles, are thought to mimic territorial intruders as they dance in the wind. Presumably, the movement captures the attention of the bees, which repeatedly attack the flowers and pollinate them in the process." https://lnkd.in/db9X2SK View in LinkedIn

EVOLUTIONARY IMPACT. "Deceit pollination—via mimicry of food sources, nesting sites or potential mates—significantly increased speciation and extinction rates but resulted in a small decrease in net diversification within lineages." http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1814/20151553 View in LinkedIn

OFF THE CURVE. "The ability to attract pollinators without offering them a reward has evolved independently in many angiosperm lineages, but usually in only a few species per family. In contrast, it has been estimated that around one-third of orchid species are pollinated by ‘food-deception’." http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/5/1085.full.pdf View in LinkedIn

"DECEIT POLLINATION evolved at least once, in the stem group of all orchids except Apostasioideae, and then was lost" in 21 other groups. http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1814/20151553 View in LinkedIn