Orchids do outsmart stupid females, too
Deceptive orchids typically employ sexual deception of male insects. However, brood-site deception occurs when flowers are pollinated by female flies fooled into attempting oviposition.
Pollination by carrion insects has been documented in a wide range of plant families. Plants attract these pollinators by mimicking the substrate these pollinators by mimicking the substrate on which the insects rely as a brood or food site through a diverse array of traits such as dark brown or purple flower coloration, the frequent presence of bizarre, filliform appendages and proportionally large flowers and inflorescences. Perhaps the most characteristic trait is the putrid floral scent emitted by the flowers, which closely resembles that of real carrion. Globally, the most important carrion insects include members of the Dipteran families Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae.
Pollination systems that rely on carrion mimicry are often characterized by the absence of a reward and thereby constitute another form of pollination through deception.
S. pumilum is pollinated exclusively by sarcophagid carrion flies, mainly females. Female sarcophagid flies deposit live larvae on S. pumilum flowers.
Carrion flies use olfactory and visual cues to find carrion S. pumilum scent is similar to that of real carrion and its dull maroon-brown coloration has the typical appearance of a carrion mimic.
