A: Much of it is true but not all. No known flower has a drawing of the pollinator female. The rest is true.

In Australia and Europe, about 30 orchid species mimic the odor and appearance of female wasps (and bees) so well that the fooled male wasp picks up pollen sacs as he attempts to mate with the flower. This only works for a short time until the real female wasps emerge from the soil. But, the male wasps may have cross-pollinated the flowers by then.

Flowers do have "drawings" on their petals, often perceived only in ultraviolet light that insects, especially bees, can see. However, the idea is to guide the insect—not trick it—to the nectar.

The center of many bee-pollinated flowers reflects ultraviolet light poorly and therefore looks dark to bees. That’s the target. "Come here," it beckons.

"The contrasting ultraviolet pattern (called a nectar guide) helps a bee quickly locate the flower’s center," says John Meyer, entomologist at North Carolina State University. The result benefits both: efficient pollination for the plant and fast nectar service for the bee.

Hans Kugler, who studied flowers from 1940 to 1960, found nectar or pollen guides on 50 to 80 percent of the flowers he examined.

John Meyer, North Carolina State University: Nectar guides

Florian Schiestl, Australian National University: Sexual deceiving orchids and the deceived wasps (photos)

Bob Fulcher, The Tennessee conservationist magazine: The meaning of flowers

(Answered May 16, 2003)