The Comet Orchid

[Orchidophile]

I also saw that show on PBS and thats what spurred me to buy one. Its still very small and they grow very slowly so it won't be blooming any time soon. I also went to the Belle Isle conservatory in Detroit and they had quite a few of the Ang. sesquipidale blooming along with hundreds of other orchids.

[gmdiaz]

We have the Sphinx Moth here in Colorado. . .we call them black bear candy bars.

[flhiker]

Here it that video. Just in case you would like to see it again. I saved it to watch over and over.

YouTube - NATURE "The Best of NATURE -- 25 Years" | Exclusive | PBS

[migueld]

Wow... can someone explain how can two different species randomly mutate to arrive at such bizarre system of pollination in which both species have a perfectly matching long apparatus?

In the case of the Moth, why would the tongue mutate? How would a moth know that the nectar is at the end of the orchid's tail? And if there was mutation in the tongue, what would cause it to be naturally selected to match the orchid's tail length?

In the case of the plant, why would the orchid mutate into having a long tail with the nectar hidden? It seems this is by design a choice so that only a few insects can reach it.

Every part of this scenario screams design. The long-tonged moth was designed to interact with the long-tailed orchid. This seems like a perfect example of intelligent design over evolution, not the other way around.

Can someone please explain how this can be?

[kiki-do]

I agree with you, Migueld, it has to be intelligent design. Interesting dialogue happening here.
I too am fasinated by the specific moth needed to pollinate this orchid.

[Dorothy]

I think it's mother nature at her best
Same question applies to the Psychopsis orchid that mimics the look of a butterfly and other orchids who mimic the visual form of the insects that pollinate them .. How do they do that? How do they know what they look like?
It's all a mystery to me and something that I have pondered

[Tindomul]

Originally Posted by Dorothy

I think it's mother nature at her best
Same question applies to the Psychopsis orchid that mimics the look of a butterfly and other orchids who mimic the visual form of the insects that pollinate them .. How do they do that? How do they know what they look like?
It's all a mystery to me and something that I have pondered

They don't know. Its just that a long time ago, one of them had a mutation that made it look a bit more like the end result (as it stands now, evolution continues after all) just happened to be something that worked better. It worked so well that nature kept the design.