Some orchids are tricksters. A flower's job is to become pollinated and produce seeds. This usually means enlisting the help of insects to carry pollen from one flower to another as they forage for nectar. [ Video source: ScienceOnline ]
A large numbers of orchids use devious tricks to make insects do their bidding without reward. Some mimic the look and scent of female wasps, luring in the males who get pollen glued to their back. When the mistake is repeated at another flower, the pollen comes off and pollination is completed.
Their bag of tricks also includes shooting sticky pollen darts onto insects, and mimicking the prey that wasps like to eat. Little wonder they have been described as the cheats and liars of the plant world.
Did you know? The earliest orchid pollen dates back to 15 - 20 million years ago
Without orchids there would be no Brazil nuts! Females of the large long-tongued orchid bee pollinate the Brazil nut tree, but the bees canąt mate without the help of orchids, so without orchids there would be no bees and no Brazil nuts.
