For example, the Australian hammer orchid has taken advantage of a mating ritual of the Thynnid wasp, which involves a female wasp waiting on top of a branch or plant for a male to spot her.

Orchids, belonging to the Orchidaceae family, are among the most diverse and widespread flowering plants on Earth. With over ...

The orchid offers no nectar or pollen reward; rather, it seduces male bees with the promise of bee sex and then insures its pollination by frustrating precisely the desire it has excited.

Some flowers go to extraordinary lengths to attract pollinators. Bee orchids mimic the shape and scent of bees in order to lure them into ‘pseudocopulation’, where the male insect attempts to mate ...