Phew! Orchid perfume turns revolting
By Susan Milius
Orchids that can smell so alluring that bees try to mate with them can also smell repulsive to the insects.
At first, a blossom of the European orchid Ophrys sphegodes gives off odors mimicking the scent of a female bee (SN: 7/3/99, p. 11). After the bloom has fooled a male into pollinating it, the odor changes, explains Florian P. Schiestl of the Australian National University in Canberra.