For instance, the bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) has flowers that closely resemble female bees, enticing male bees to attempt mating and thereby facilitating pollination. This intricate mimicry not ...

(Deceit is evidently very much in the air.) I went in search of one of the most ingenious and diabolical of orchids: the Ophrys. (Some botanists call it the "prostitute orchid.") I'd been eager to ...