 
The Conscious Actions of Plants
Plants' Deception Methods
 Some plants use methods of deception. These plants do not have nectar with which to attract insects. These kinds of plants are fertilized by their making use of their similarities to insects. One species of orchid, the mirror orchid, possesses the shape and color of a female bee in order to attract bees. This species of orchid is even able to give off a suitable chemical signal to attract male bees, and produces an effective pheromone (a special chemical).
The Cyprus Bee Orchid
The Cyprus bee orchid is another of the plants which imitate insects to ensure their fertilization. The number of orchids employing this technique is quite large, and the methods used differ from one to the other. Some imitate a female bee with its head pointing upwards, others have the head pointing downwards.
The Dragon Orchild
Another species of orchid which imitates female bees is the dragon orchid. The lip of the dragon orchid's flower mimics the wingless female wasp so competently that only male wasps show any interest in them. Some members of the orchid family manage to attract insects to them, even if they have no nectar to offer. They secure the landing of male wasps on an area in the lower part of the flower by imitating the female wasp and giving off an attractive scent. The wasp which lands on the flower attempts to mate, and as a result, the orchid's pollinea are fixed on his body. Thanks to this deception, it deposits the pollen stuck on its body on another flower on which it lands with the same aim.
The Hammer Orchid
Another plant which imitates the features of female animals is the hammer orchid. The reproductive mechanism of this orchid, which grows in dry grasslands of South Australia, is quite amazing. The hammer orchid has just one leaf, in the shape of a heart, and shows a total resemblance to the female wasp. While the male wasps fly, the females have no wings, and spend most of their time in the soil. When the time comes for the females to mate, they come out from under the ground so that the males can find them, and climb to the top of a tall plant stem. Once atop, they give off their mating smell and await the arrival of a male.
 A special
feature of the male wasps is that they reach the orchids two
weeks before the females. This is a most interesting situation,
because there are no female wasps around, only orchids which
look just like female wasps and which are waiting for fertilization.
And when the male wasps come to the orchids, they smell an
odor similar to that given off by female wasps. This is emitted
by the orchid. Under the influence of this smell, the male
wasps land on the orchid leaves. This triggers the plant's
spring-loaded 'elbow' joint causing the wasp to fall on its
reproductive organ. While the wasp attempts to escape from
the flower, two pollen-laden sacs stick to the back of its
head or to its back. In this way, when the wasp goes to other
orchids, the pollen stuck to its back serves to fertilize
them. As we have seen, there is a most harmonious relationship
between the hammer orchid and the wasp. This symbiosis is
most important for the reproduction of the plant. Because
if successful pollination did not take place, in other words,
if the pollen were not to be transported from the insect to
another plant of the same species, then fertilization would
not take place.
There are many examples in nature of such accord as exists between the hammer orchid and the wild bees. Sometimes differences between flowers can be the reason for such a relationship. For example, it is very easy for some insects to enter some flowers, because that part of the flower where the pollen lies is open, and insects and bees can easily enter these regions and reach the pollen. Some plants have a nectar entrance of such a size as can be entered only by certain animals. For instance, in some situations bees push themselves through these gaps so as to reach the nectar in the flower. It is very difficult, even impossible, for other living things to do what the bee does so very easily.
Bees and other insects, on the other hand, are unable to
fertilize flowers with long corolla (petals) tubes. Only long-tongued
insects, such as butterflies and moths can fertilize these
flowers.
As we have seen from all these examples, there is a totally
flawless harmony between insects, whose bodily structure is
entirely suited to that of the plants, and the plants themselves.
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