this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2025
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Orchids

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This orchid looks like there is a bee on it (Ophrys apifera) (upload.wikimedia.org)
submitted 5 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Ophrys_apifera2.jpg

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[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

The fun part is why: the flower mimics a female bee of a certain species in both looks and scent, so male bees "copulate" with it. The horny bee won't get any child from that, but the orchid does because that pollinates the flower.

Most species in that genus are like this, the main difference being which insect species they fool.