兰花，植物界的模仿专家
华石斛和它的传粉工具
@Brodmann et al.
兰花是植物中出色的模仿者，而所有的模仿都是为了传粉。一些兰花进化出类似雌性黄蜂的外观来吸引雄性黄蜂，另一些兰花则能产生气味，让自己闻起来像是潜在的交配对象或者更具吸引力的花。
发表在《当代生物学》（Current Biology）杂志上的一项研究发现了另一种形式的伪装：一种兰花能够释放出与蜜蜂用来向蜂巢同伴发出警报时完全相同的化学物质。
为什么模仿这个？因为蜜蜂是黄蜂幼虫最喜欢的食物。当这种叫华石斛（Dendrobium sinense）的兰花发出假警报时，黄蜂就会扑向花瓣，以为能给孩子们带回一顿蜜蜂大餐，却在不知情的情况下成了传粉工具。
Sneaky Orchid Drives Wasps Wild
Orchids are botany's great mimics, all in the service of getting pollinated. Some have evolved to resemble female wasps to attract males. Others produce odors that smell like potential mates or like more attractive flowers. A study published in the journal Current Biology adds another form of floral fabrication to this list: an orchid that releases the exact same chemical compound that honeybees use to alert their hive mates.
Why? Because the bees are the favorite food of the larvae of Vespa hornets. And when the orchid Dendrobium sinense sends out these false alarms, the hornets pounce on the petals, thinking they'll bring a bee dinner home to the kids. Instead they become unwitting pollinators.
Researchers were intrigued by the hornets' mysterious violent attacks on the orchids...[full transcript]