Ten species of hammer orchids (genus Drakaea) are found only in Western Australia, and each is pollinated by a specific wasp species in the Thynnid family. Each orchid has a fake model of the pollinating wasp carefully placed to attract the real wasps. It sounds like a clever practical joke, but the hammer orchid has a “dummy” labellum on a stem attached to a hinge that only bends toward the orchid’s flower.
Of course, the dummy on the stem resembles a female thynnid wasp in size, shape, and color. At the right time for fertilization, the hammer orchid releases a pheromone that mimics the female wasp’s scent. Thynnid wasps are unusual because the female is flightless and waits on a stem or grass blade for a male wasp to carry her away to a food source for mating. When a male thynnid wasp falls for the trick and tries to carry away the dummy, a hinge throws him backward into the orchid, dusting him with pollen.
The humiliated male wasp then leaves and might be fooled by another hammer orchid, where he deposits the pollen he collected from the first flower. The male wasp might repeat this process several times (assuming he’s a slow learner), which is the only way the orchid gets pollinated. If the trick didn’t work, the hammer orchid would become extinct.
Consider all the things that must go right for this trick to succeed:
1. The orchid must produce a labellum that resembles the female wasp in size, color, and shape.
2. The male wasp must be programmed to grab a flightless female and carry her away as part of the mating ritual.
3. The orchid must produce the right complex chemical pheromone to mimic the female wasp at just the right time to attract the male.
4. The hinge must move in the right direction and not be too weak or too stiff.
5. The stem from the hinge to the dummy wasp must be exactly the right length to coat the male wasp with pollen.
6. The male wasp must not be clever enough to learn from his mistakes.
Could the unique design of the hammer orchid have happened by chance, or is design a better explanation? Could it also be that the Designer has a sense of humor?
— Roland Earnst © 2025
Reference: wikipedia.org