Insect Impersonates Orchids to Lure in Prey

The orchid mantis is such a clever impersonator that it's putting actual orchids out of business, according to a team of researchers who ventured into the forests of Malaysia to put a century-old theory to the test.

"Mimicry of flowers has until now been demonstrated only in angiosperms, yet it has been hypothesized that the Malaysian orchid mantis Hymenopus coronatus mimics a flower to attract pollinators as prey," the researchers wrote in the study published by The American Naturalist.

Despite roughly 100 years of conjecture, the theory had never been put to the test. In an effort to change this, Macquarie University's James O'Hanlon and Marie Herberstein joined with Gregory Holwell of the University of Auckland to carry out a field expedition to observe the insect in its natural habitat.

The scientists found that the body of the orchid mantis was so attractive, pollinators preferred them to the actual flowers.

"Their bright floral [colors] and petal shaped legs create a tantalizing lure for insects," O'Hanlon said. "So it seems that orchid mantises not only look like flowers but also beat flowers at their own game."

Mimicry was first described by the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates in 1861. Due to the great variety of ways organisms exhibit the behavior, however, "mimicry theory continues to be a progressing field in evolutionary and behavioral ecology," the researchers wrote in the study.

The bolas spider, named after a traditional South American weapon largely primarily used for hunting, is example of a similar cloak-and-dagger approach to capturing prey. Adult females release a cocktail of chemicals that mimic female moth pheromones, effectively luring in the male moths they prey upon. 

The orchid mantis is the first known example of an organism luring in prey by impersonating a flower blossom, the researchers reported.

"After more than a century of conjecture we provide the first experimental evidence of pollinator deception in the orchid mantis and the first description of a unique predatory strategy that has not been documented in any other animal species."