Topic summary
Orchid bee
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Euglossini.
Fragrance collection
Neotropical orchids themselves often exhibit elaborate adaptations involving highly specific placement of pollen packets (pollinia) on the bodies of the male orchid bees; the specificity of their placement ensures that cross-pollination only occurs between orchids of the same species. Different orchid bee males are attracted to different chemicals, so there is also some specificity regarding which orchid bees visit which types of orchid. The early description of this pollination system was by Charles Darwin, though at the time, he believed the bees were females. Not all orchids utilize euglossines as pollen vectors, of course; among the other types of insects exploited are other types of bees, wasps, flies, ants, and moths.