Life
An orchid uses its moldy looks to draw flies, plus snake fights and beelining whales in this week’s news
By Science News
Orchids’ phony fungus
An orchid with black, hairy spots on its leaves may be the first example of a newly discovered kind of pollination by deceit: attracting fungus-seeking flies just by looking and smelling moldy. Southwestern China’s
Cypripedium fargesii
offers no nectar or other recognizable food to attract pollinating insects, but tests showed that the flowers need help in moving pollen. Monitoring revealed that flat-footed flies are probable pollinators. The orchids’ funky scent shares three compounds with a fungus these flies appear to eat, an international team reports online April 18 in the