"males of a species called orchid-dupe-wasps... with Australian tongue orchids...
evolutionary biologist Anne Gaskett at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia... wasps and orchids. These were described to her as "pseudo-copulating," "but when I saw these wasps mating with these tongue orchids, it didn't look 'pseudo' at all," she said. ... researchers monitored the wasps and orchids in the field. ... After many weeks of microscopy work, researcher Claire Winnick "sent... a message saying she had finally found the sperm," Gaskett recalled. "I rushed down to the lab, saw the wasp sperm on the flowers glowing blue under UV light..." ... tongue orchids... these blossoms still have the highest success at getting pollinated ever discovered in a sexually deceptive orchid. Gaskett, Winnick and their colleague Marie Herberstein will detail their findings in the June issue of the journal American Naturalist." URL : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24353726/site/newsweek/ ***************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
