Paracaleana nigrita Flying Duck Orchid Endemic
There are two orchids in this genus called Flying Duck - the other one looks much more like a flying duck than this one does.
Both however belong to that class of plants which are insect deceivers. They fool the prospective pollinating insect into thinking it will get a sexual reward of mating with a female of the species. Like the Drakaea genus the insect to be fooled is a Thynnid wasp which thinks the flower looks like a female especially as the orchid emits a pheromone-like scent similar to the one given off by a genuine female wasp.
In this case the wasp is too heavy for the warty looking labellum (the wasp lands with the head towards the pointy end of the orchid flower) and the wasp plus flower immediately bend over, flipping the wasp into an open pouch in which the pollen sacs are located. The pollen sacs become attached and the wasp flies off to deposit them on another plant pollinating it.
Paracaleana nigrita is found in the far south west of western Australia usually reasonably close to the coast from north of Perth down to Margaret River, Albany with outposts near Esperance. Paracaleana is another genus where new species have been found in such places as Israelite Bay and The Darling Range but as yet have not been given a formal botanical systematic name.
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| Paracaleana nigrita Flying Duck Orchid whole | Paracaleana nigrita Flying Duck Orchid close |
Shalem stop, nr Lake Muir, Western Australia 28th September and 3rd October 2015
Added on March 13th 2016