bee orchids are – in my opinion – one of the truly curious outcomes of (co-)evolution. as noted before, the orchid species in the genus ophrys immitate female bees with their flowers and scent, attracting males that will try to mate with the flowers and unwillingly pollinate them. most of the species are optimized to just one (or few) bee species.
during last weekend’s trip to ardèche, france, we came across two species of bee orchid, and (naturally) the lytro lightfield camera was with me. :)
they do resemble bees when out of focus, don’t they?
ophrys apifera:
[living pictures no longer available]
ophrys bertolonii ssp. saratoi:
[living pictures no longer available]
orchid encore: orchis tridentata
[living pictures no longer available]