Wild Things: Life as We Know It Orchids, Baboons, Ancient
Reptiles and More... - By T. A. Frail, Jesse Rhodes, Jessica
Righthand, Brandon Springer and Sarah Zielinski - Smithsonian
magazine, September 2010 Researchers in Ecuador have discovered
a new trick from a famously deceptive family of flowers. The
Dracula orchid, so named because its modified leaves resemble
flying bats, has a central petal that looks like the small,
white mushroom where Zygothrica flies mate. The flowers even
give off a fungal scent. Why? Flies that congregate on an orchid
unwittingly gather pollen and transfer it to the next flower
they visit. Learn more about dracula orchids at the Encyclopedia
of Life. “Resolution of Body Temperature by Some Mesozoic Marine
Reptiles,” Aurélien Bernard et al., Science, June 11, 2010 “Lord
of the Flies: Pollination of Dracula Orchids,” Lorena Endara et
al., Lankesteriana, April 2010 “Structure of Social Networks in
a Passerine Bird: Consequences for Sexual Selection and the
Evolution of Mating Strate