The Flying Duck Orchid

Nature 2 Minutes

If you have never seen the Flying Duck orchid in real life, you can be forgiven for thinking that it is a fake. This is because it is hard to imagine Mother Nature trying to copy or impersonate one of its own creatures? But it is a fact that the flowers of this species of orchid bear uncanny resemblance to a flying duck. It is a small species of orchid that is found in eucalyptus woodland of Australia along its eastern and southern coastline. The scientific name of this orchid is Caleana Major after the name of a botanist George Caley.

The complex flower of this species of orchid is tiny, only 15-20mm in size. But it has a peculiar shape that makes it look like a duck in flight. Most of the plants have reddish, brown, and purplish flowers even though in some cases these flowers can also be green. Chances are that you may miss out on seeing this species of orchids even after visiting the right places in Southern and Eastern Australia. The peculiar color of the flowers of this orchid makes the plant to mix and blend well with the surroundings. Scientists say that the flower has evolved in such a way so as to help this species of orchids to attract its pollinators. We humans see the head of the flower in the shape of a duck but male sawfly sees it as a female sawfly. It gets attracted to it and makes an attempt to mate with it.

Facts about the Flying Duck Orchid

Habitat: Eastern and Southern Australia

Scientific name: Caleana major

Other common names: Flying Duck orchid

The flower has a labellum that is in the shape of the beak of the duck. The length and breadth of this labellum is such that it serves as a perfect place for sitting for the male sawfly. As the male sawfly sits on it, it sends signals to the body of the flower to set the trap in motion. This trap makes the insect get into a place and by the time it is free, it has to pollinate the flower. This process of propagation is referred to as pseudocopulation by the scientists. The roots of this species of orchid have a symbiotic relationship with a fungus that is native to the places where it is found in Australia. This is one of the reasons why this unique species of orchid is very difficult to grow inside homes. It is this fungus that protects the plant from several infections. When this fungus is not present in the medium, it is difficult to save the plant from dying down because of these infections.

There are two more petals of this uniquely shaped flower of Flying Duck orchid. Both of them look more like sepals and they are curved back to look exactly like the wings of a duck ready to take a flight. This orchid plant is perennial in nature but it flowers only during spring or early summer.

Flying Duck orchid has the pride of being on the postage stamp of Australia.

SOURCE: ORCHIDSPLUS.COM

Unknown's avatar

Published by pat frederick

Published

238 thoughts on “The Flying Duck Orchid”

  1. That fucking bitch!!!! Sorry but she INFURIATES me!!! Debbie Wasserman-Schultz making a motion to move to Executive Session because of the “racist and anti-semitic comments” RFK Jr. allegedly made. Thank you, GOP! The votes were 10 aye to table that slut’s motion vs. 8 no’s from the dems!!! Moving on…..

    Liked by 1 person

  2. “How CIA-linked companies make money on military aid to Ukraine”
    CIAGATE
    JUL 20, 2023

    EXCERPT: “Today, we are going to show how the fraud scheme involving U.S. supplies of UAVs to Ukraine is organized. Moreover, we are to name personalities in the American intelligence community, who stay behind this money theft. They are CIA-linked Hans Mumm and Charles Goslin, who receive instructions from Chanda Creasy, the CIA Assistant for Global Operations. These people have already been mentioned in our previous investigations.

    Hans Mumm and Charles Goslin oversee a network of companies controlled by the CIA. These organizations specialize in the production of UAVs, navigation equipment and aircraft instruments. We are talking about AeroVironment, Airgility, CG Security Associates and Victory Systems. The management of these companies is also directly related to the CIA.

    Contacts with the Ukrainian side are realized through Ukrainian citizens Yevhen Peresvetov and Olekseii Manuylov, who are the agents of Ukriane’s main intelligence directorate (GUR). In the U.S. these people act under the guise of law and advertisement firms’ employees. At the same time Peresvetov and Manuylov are trusted men of Col Maxim Zubenko, Ukraine’s military air attaché in the U.S., and Col. Volodymyr Shcherban, the military advisor of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations.”

    https://ciagate.substack.com/p/how-cia-linked-companies-make-money

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I gotta tell ya’…..RFK Jr. scares me – I fully expect that he may well end up the Dem candidate…he’s just too good at this since he’s lived his whole life in that world…..I even wonder if he can actually beat Trump….

    Liked by 1 person

    1. he checks a lot of the dems boxes–he’s a climate freak and for gun control.
      the key is who will be his vice president. because the shadow gov’t will just take him out if he gets elected…they’ve done it before

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Oh, I fully expect them to pull out all the stops ala the testimony I’m listening today…dems have the long knives out for him!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. The thing that scares me is that RFK Jr. won’t back down – that is rare in a dem…..he’s just coming right back at them off-the-cuff. He did away with his prepared speech after being attacked so viciously and took it to them.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Back when Tucker got fired, a lot of people were trying to say it was because Murdoch is an atheist. There is no way that played ANY part in it, considering the consistent and constant proselytizing that goes on there all day, every day.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. These days, even that wouldn’t surprise me! It seems like everything we’ve ever known turns out to have been a sham….

      Liked by 2 people

  12. dear Lord!

    Betsy jones
    July 20, 2023 12:17 pm

    I just can’t……

    From a tweet posted by COVID VACCINE INJURIES. COM

    “Garnet Harper was denied a kidney transplant because he wasn’t vaccinated. No doctor or hospital in Ontario would perform the surgery, despite his two brothers volunteering to donate. Garnet tragically passed away on May 22, leaving behind his wife and their 5 children.

    While Garner was near death in the hospital, the hospital asked his wife if they could harvest his organs when he died.

    According to the Government, Garnet wasn’t worthy of a transplant while he was alive, but he is worthy as an [UNVACCINATED!!!!] organ donor once he died?”

    Depraved indifference, murder, call it what you will.

    I’ll bet he was offered the option of “assisted suicide” as well. It is Canada after all. The “medical” profession there is a malignancy. And we in this country are not far from it.

    I feel sick….

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Interesting little interlude….man, GT is soooo skinny! I’ve got to get some wormer in him soon! I heard a bird screeching and looked out to see him stalking thru the grass out by the shed. I stepped out and called to him – he looked up and actually jogged over towards me. So I grabbed the package of soft treats I keep for Jake and went out to sit on the patio in front of the door. He moved over to his usual spot near the planter and I tossed a few his way, getting ever closer to me. But he would only come so far….he loved the treats but just wasn’t willing yet. When he went over and laid down behind the planter, I came inside – he promptly got up and moved over to where I usually put his food dish, gathering up the remaining treats on the way, and laid down. LOL – staking his claim, perhaps?

    Liked by 2 people

      1. I’m thinking the next step to canned food might finally work to get him close enough that I can take the next step and try to touch him. Get him to sniff my fingers, which, of course, will smell like the canned food….

        Liked by 1 person

          1. It’s easier for me with animals – I’m more in tune with them than humans. I can read their body language….how they move their ears, their eyes, their nose, their whiskers, individual muscles, etc., etc. It’s pretty universal with ALL animals and easy to read for me. The only complicating factors are previous interactions THEY may have had with stupid humans in the past, like Shelby. Short of drastic situations like that, I can usually come to an understanding, a meeting of the minds. No games, they are who they are, yes, they will try to psych you out but they are predictable. Whereas humans….oh, hell, no! I’m lost there! LOL

            Liked by 1 person

  14. Watching Fox/Faulkner on Outnumbered. They aim their fire at the “woke” corporations themselves, rather than the conglomerates who FUND those corporations behind the scenes, like BlackRock, who require the woke policies in order to continue providing that funding. This is why I think corporations should only expand when they have the profits to cover that expansion without being forced to kow-tow to their financial masters. But that can all be traced back to the 1930’s under Wilson and the Federal Reserve, which destroyed the whole fricking system. I’ve always thought one of THE worst things for this country was the invention of the stock market!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Agghhhh….frickin’ Kayleigh McEnany – they are discussing In’ and ‘Out Burger requiring that their employees not wear masks w/o a doctor’s note. She said that her daughter’s first word was “mask!” OK – whose fault is THAT??? Clearly, YOU were saying it to her!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  16. “New DOD docs show “transgender” service members receive fitness exemptions, drug testing waivers, & paid vacations — Female service members are being forced to live and share bathrooms and showers with biological men.”
    JORDAN SCHACHTEL
    JUL 20, 2023

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Transgender identifying service members can remain in good standing with the U.S. military even if they’re morbidly obese drug addicts, and they won’t have to worry about getting deployed either. According to new documents, these service members also qualify for paid vacations every time they get a new “surgery” to affirm their gender identity.

    The Biden Administration has not just merely rescinded the Trump Administration’s transgender military ban, they’ve installed a new hierarchy in the Pentagon that places the rainbow flag agenda above all other priorities. These documents display the reality of a defense establishment that has prioritized catering to wokeness and social justice ideologies over preparing a combat ready military purposed with defending Americans from threats to the homeland.

    After publishing a non-public DOD memo on Monday, The Dossier has acquired another DOD document titled, “Guidance for Gender-Affirming Health Care of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Active and Reserve Component Service Members.” Unlike the policy document published Monday, this memo is publicly available, but remains buried within: (PDF download)

    The Dossier reported Monday on some of the enormous perks granted to service members who identify as transgender. But this new Defense Health Agency (DHA) document shows that our reporting just scratches the surface of the list of endless exemptions and privileges afforded to trans-identifying service members. In short, the new DOD policy system can be summarized by the following Family Guy clip:
    (video)
    The new docs make clear that “transgender” service members who are taking hormones and/or undergoing surgeries are often granted exceptions to policy waivers for the following standards:
    -Dress and appearance
    -Facilities/Berthing/Billeting
    -Fitness Standards
    -Military Personnel Drug Abuse Testing Program
    -Body Composition Program

    So yes, the aforementioned hypothetical is no exaggeration. A transgender identifying service member can in fact be a morbidly obese drug addict and not have to worry about complying with virtually any semblance of basic standards as long as they’re still popping estrogen pills. But wait, there’s more. Following mutilation procedures, service members are often granted convalescent leave (paid leave) and “light duty” privileges.

    And these perks come with a heavy price to fellow soldiers.

    If you’ve read some of the horror stories about what female service members now have to endure within the military, it’s important to understand that this is not the result of some rogue series of woke commanders, but overall policy implementations from the very top. The policy makes clear that female service members are now forced to share living quarters, bathrooms, and shower facilities with biological men.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. this is disgusting. i thought if you were dependent on medicines (such as diabetes) you were not allowed to serve. but these drug addled imposters are???

      Liked by 2 people

      1. I honestly don’t know about diabetes but at one time, you couldn’t even enlist if your eyesight was bad!!!!

        Liked by 2 people

  17. Zelensky et al need to burn in hell!!!! I’ll bet even MORE Ukrainians regret the US-instigated/encouraged/fueled coup now!!!!

    “The demographic implosion of Ukraine: Women fleeing Ukraine and finding new partners while men find death at the front: “We initially thought the European reception policy (for Ukrainian refugees) was a miracle of generosity, but it has turned out to be a curse”
    July 20, 2023
    editor: REMIX NEWS author: DENES ALBERT

    (Refugees wait in line after fleeing the war from neighboring Ukraine at the border crossing in Medyka, southeastern Poland, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “With empty towns and villages, families torn apart, soldiers on the frontline with wives and children abroad who will never return, and birth rates at a record low, Ukraine’s demographic picture is imploding, Italian daily Corriere della Sera reports. “The population collapse will soon cause very serious economic and social problems. Putin may lose the war, but he could still win the challenge for the future of a stable and independent Ukraine,” the Italian newspaper writes, citing a variety of experts.

    The issue is not being addressed by the government either, as it is clear they are unsure what to do about it while fighting Russia has taken precedence over everything else. “When the house burns, first you have to put out the fire, and only later will you think about what furniture to buy,” Ukrainian government officials said in response to the crisis.

    Corriere della Sera, however, argues that the issue should indeed take precedence, as the entire future of the country is at stake. The paper says the demographic collapse goes all the way back to the time of independence in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. At that time, Ukraine’s population stood at 52 million. By 2001, it had dropped to 48.5 million, and right before the invasion, it stood at only 42 million, a fall of 10 million since 1991.

    “These figures are consistent with population declines in all former Soviet republics, but the biggest blow came in the opening weeks of the war, which caused women and children to flee abroad en masse, given that the government had immediately banned the departures of men between the ages of 18 and 65. And today, the resident population is estimated at between 28 and 31 million,” writes the Italian newspaper.

    “From 52 million to less than 30 in three decades: a very serious loss for the country, undermining its chances of reconstruction after the end of the war, penalizing economic normalization, and drowning the pension system,” says Alexander Demenchuk, rector of the Faculty of Political Science in Kyiv.

    “There is a lack of children, therefore a lack of future. Young women from the upper middle classes with excellent rates of schooling have left. And what is even more serious is that well over half of them do not intend to return to Ukraine. The children study in German, Polish, Austrian, French or Dutch schools. The mothers immediately found jobs,” writes the paper, adding: “We initially thought the European reception policy (for Ukrainian refugees) was a miracle of generosity, but it has turned out to be a curse.”

    According to Ella Libanova, a respected demographer at the National Academy of Sciences, all of this affects the fertility rate, which has plummeted to 0.7 percent, one of the lowest in the world. All urban centers located near Donbass are semi-deserted; only the elderly, sick and poor remain. But the problem is national. “Most of my best employees quickly found employment in Poland and France. Our industries are not working, there is a lack of market. None of them will return,” says Sergei, an entrepreneur in the IT field with offices scattered across the country.

    He also tells the stories of soldiers abandoned by their wives to couple with men from other European nations. “My wife with our two children aged 5 and 7 had left for Germany in the first days of the war. Since then, we were in contact less and less. And now I’ve discovered that she’s found a new companion,” said 40-year-old Alexei to Italian journalists. Despite the man fighting for his country near Bakhmut, he was abandoned for another man. Julia Komar, a psychologist who treats family conflict, said that the divorce rate is only set to increase due to the war. “The conflict will increase the divorce rate. Women leave men, but even soldiers sometimes find new companions,” she said

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Huh! I went to the bathroom, then spent 10 minutes washing some dishes…in that short period of time, Jerry came and went, with the wheel now re-installed on my mower!!! He’s a jewel! I will be mowing later, as long as those clouds I see in the west don’t start dropping rain again….

    Liked by 2 people

  19. “Who was the original ‘King of cool’? Probably this guy…

    By 1935 Clark Gable was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. After getting his start at MGM, he was making $2,000 a week (roughly $30,000 today) and living the high life. In ’34 he starred in It Happened One Night, a picture that netted Gable the Best Actor award at the Academy Awards. It’s no wonder that after that kind of success he splashed out on a car like the Duesenberg Roadster.

    The Roadster was so expensive that it the manufacturer only made two of them due to its production happening in the middle of the Great Depression. Clark Gable owned one, and his pal Gary Cooper owned the other.”

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Yeah, same here – I never did think he was all that good-looking. I’m more a fan of men like Gregory Peck, Paul Neuman, Tony Curtis…

        Liked by 1 person

  20. this is treasonous, isn’t it?
    our constitution requires both houses to approve war or am i remembering civics wrong?
    Lorrie Girten
    Lorrie Girten
    July 20, 2023 2:23 pm

    Why did 83 of our US senators vote that NATO supercedes the rule of our own government? Traitors. We are not a global cabal. We are a republic. VOTE them out one-by-one.

    Liked by 1 person


  21. “This is pretty cool. It’s on a T-intersection just outside of Wimberley, Texas.”

    “Broadway may soon be joining actors and writers in strike action after a strike authorization vote was called by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Wednesday, according to Playbill. The vote comes after negotiations fell through with The Broadway League and Disney Theatrical, who represent Broadway and national tour producers.

    The discussions centre around IATSE’s Pink Contract, which includes a number of professions in its fold, including stagehands, hair and make-up artists, wardrobe staff, and more. The vote is open until 2:00 a.m., July 21, with strike action expected to be called as early as Friday morning. If such a strike were announced, Broadway and national tour productions would immediately cease operations.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. when the AAA i worked for won Disney Club of the Year, Disney treated the entire organization to dinner and a Broadway show they picked us up on several buses, took us to the restaurant and then to the theater to see Beauty and the Beast. I still have the playbooks. I was not impressed with NYC, or the show or the food. just not my thing.

      Liked by 1 person

  23. 41% never show up…really? I’m shocked
    FTA
    Judge Wetherell responded to this release of illegal immigrants with an order for ICE to provide statistics on how many people ultimately received their NTAs to begin removal proceedings. According to court records (pdf) filed in response, ICE revealed that a group of 2,572 illegal immigrants was released after the TRO, and that 1,065 (about 41.4 percent) of them never actually checked in within 60 days to receive their court summons and initiate their removal proceedings.

    Of the 1,507 illegal immigrants who did check in with ICE, the agency said it only issued NTAs for 464 individuals (about 18 percent). In total, 2,108 (about 82 percent) of these immigration parolees are either awaiting their NTAs after 60 days or their whereabouts are unknown.

    “These statistics are troubling to say the least,” Judge Wetherell wrote on Tuesday (pdf), in response to ICE’s court filings.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/41-percent-of-illegal-immigrant-group-biden-admin-released-into-us-never-showed-up-for-court-dates_5409945.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=TheLibertyDaily&src_src=partner&src_cmp=TheLibertyDaily

    Liked by 1 person

  25. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

  27. Read these comments – THIS is why he could be a danger to Trump’s re-election!

    “Censorship, Polarization and Corruption is Destroying our Country. Kennedy speaks Truth to power.”
    ROBERT W MALONE MD, MS
    JUL 20, 2023

    “Please watch this. The message is important. Censorship, polarization and corruption are destroying our country. Some of the comments from youtube are very compelling. The more they ask him questions and then immediately shut him up and refuse to let him answer, the more they prove him correct on censorship. They are literally helping him gain support by showing how vile they are.

    Comments:

    I pray for Mr. Kennedy. I pray for his safety and his peace. It would be nice to see him as the Dems choice for president but as we can see, they are shunning him.

    You can hear the pain in his soul from being accused of something he sees as so vile. Anyone who has learned of his youth, his upbringing and how he was as he aged knows these accusations are farcical at best. I disagree with RFK Jr on plenty but I don’t believe he has a hateful bone in his body.

    I’m a life long conservative and he would have my vote in a second. This is why they all fear him

    I am a lifelong conservative, but if RFK gets the nomination there is a very good chance that I will vote for him. I don’t agree with him on every issue, but I could never agree with anyone on every issue. I feel that he would be good for our country and could be the uniter that we have needed for a very long time.

    When a man clearly speaks common sense and is censored for it, we have serious problems in this country.”
    ——————-
    Other news…Rand Paul is again blocked by Sen. Sanders from providing solutions to the regulatory capture that has darkly twisted the Health and Human Services Agency where NIH resides.
    https://www.paul.senate.gov/sen-sanders-forbids-dr-paul-from-offering-amendment-to-reveal-royalties-of-federal-employees/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. sorry…I can go on any site and say that stuff too…trying to skew public opinion. has he had a rally yet? let’s compare apples to apples…people who actually show up!

      Liked by 1 person

              1. Let me know if you find them. On second thought look it up on Walmarts site. It should show where it’s located

                Nothing resolved yet. I mean clean up is done but getting the tree down and what not you know how that drags

                Liked by 1 person

              2. it won’t be till next week or so…but i will look and let you know! (in our walmart, they have crafty kit type things for kids in the crafts section not the toys-so I’ll check both!)
                everyone around here carries chainsaws in their trucks…lol…cuz limbs and stuff all the time

                Liked by 1 person

    1. the rocks breathing were CREEPY…but that beetle “exiting” from the frog? GROSS!!
      i have to get one of those cutters though for my crafts!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.