Joey Santore on Instagram: "For those about to deceptively induce pollination.... Cypripedium acaule is a terrestrial orchid that relies on deceptive pollination by female bumblebees to produce seed. The bees are lured into the "bag" petal (the labellum) by a sweet scent and the color patterns, only to find an absence of nectar or pollen. Probably very frustrated, they are then forced to crawl out through the top of the flower, coming into contact with a pollinium - a fused mass of pollen grains - like that shown in the video. The pollinium sticks to their back and if all goes well for the orchid, the bee goes to a flower on another Cypripedium acaule plant and repeats the same fruitless (for the bee) process, dabbing the pollinium on the receptive stigma of the orchid flower. Reportedly female bumblebees are quick to learn that the flowers of Cypripedium acaule don't produce a reward, however, and stop bothering with them, which could explain why only 10% of plants tend to produce fruits (each with tens of thousands of dust-like seeds inside). In any case, this is a really cool species that's widely distributed throughout the Midwest and east coast United States, but which is by no means common. This population seemed especially healthy and robust though, coming up beneath an over story of oaks, sassafras, and even accompanied by a few re-sprouting American Chestnuts (all of which topped out at only a meter or less) at an elevation of roughly 2,000 feet (640 meters)"

5,909 likes, 84 comments - crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt on April 29, 2025: "For those about to deceptively induce pollination.... Cypripedium acaule is a terrestrial orchid that relies on deceptive pollination by female bumblebees to produce seed. The bees are lured into the "bag" petal (the labellum) by a sweet scent and the color patterns, only to find an absence of nectar or pollen. Probably very frustrated, they are then forced to crawl out through the top of the flower, coming into contact with a pollinium - a fused mass of pollen grains - like that shown in the video. The pollinium sticks to their back and if all goes well for the orchid, the bee goes to a flower on another Cypripedium acaule plant and repeats the same fruitless (for the bee) process, dabbing the pollinium on the receptive stigma of the orchid flower. Reportedly female bumblebees are quick to learn that the flowers of Cypripedium acaule don't produce a reward, however, and stop bothering with them, which could explain why only 10% of plants tend to produce fruits (each with tens of thousands of dust-like seeds inside). In any case, this is a really cool species that's widely distributed throughout the Midwest and east coast United States, but which is by no means common. This population seemed especially healthy and robust though, coming up beneath an over story of oaks, sassafras, and even accompanied by a few re-sprouting American Chestnuts (all of which topped out at only a meter or less) at an elevation of roughly 2,000 feet (640 meters)".