Desirable daisies lure male flies with offer of sex

A SOUTH African daisy offers promises of sex to con male insects into spreading more of its pollen.

Many flowers produce nectar to entice pollinating insects to visit, but only orchids were known to tempt male insects with flowers that resemble females. Now Allan Ellis at Stellenbosch University and Steve Johnson at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg have shown that Gorteria diffusa daisies use the same sexual lure as some orchids. The petals of this daisy vary widely, with some bearing markings that look uncannily…