Lady Slipper (Cypripedioideae):
This orchid looks less like a lady’s slipper and more like the head (with feathered hat), bosom, arms, and torso of the lady herself. The only things missing are her slippers. This plant likes woodlands that are somewhere between dry and wet. The plant likes patchy sunlight in predominantly oak woodlands.
The flower petals are closed, which means that the two curved bloomers of the lady’s legs fold inward. The anthers and stigma are buried inside. When an insect visits the flower, it has to crawl inside the petals to get nectar. It turns out there is no nectar. To escape the flower the insect has to crawl upwards (behind the ladies bosom) and out passing by the anthers and stigma. Poor insect then does it all over again at another lady’s slipper.
It is reported that the deer fly is one of the main pollinators of lady slippers. When DDT was still used as an insecticide the pollinators of lady slippers decreased to such a point that there was a worry that the species might go extinct. Now, after DDT has decreased at least regionally, the deer fly population has increased enough that lady slippers are making a come-back. Thank God for deer flies!
Lady Slipper