The Hammer Orchid has an unusual pollination strategy: It uses a devious disguise to lure love-sick Thynnid Wasps.
At first glance, the Hammer Orchid doesn't look like much: It has no flashy petals, and no appealing nectar.
It doesn't look much like a flower at all, but that's the point. It has a different strategy to get pollinated...
The plant's pollinators are the male Thynnid Wasps, who are currently on the prowl for eligible females to mate with.
The plant mimics the look, and even the smell of the flightless female wasps, to draw these males in.
Lustful males will fly straight past the waiting females to seduce this impersonator, becoming an unwitting pollinator.
The wasps will fly from orchid to orchid, desperately trying to seal the deal, all while pollinating the flower.