A moth’s wings feature two flies picking at a pile of bird dropping.
Macrocilix maia/Alexey Yakovlev
This all just somehow happened: A moth’s wings feature two flies picking at a pile of bird dropping. Information transmitted by nobody at all to somebody (a moth predator). Information that happens to be false, which probably increases the complexity.
An accident of natural selection, right? Agree, or we revoke your degree.
You can pick up your brain on the way out, scrubbed clean of all signs of question or doubt.
uncommondescent.com
..... , the photo-sharing site Flickr has outpaced any academic work: photographer Allan Lee reports in 2009 that the moth reinforces the imagery with a pungent odor.
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More things that just happened:
Monkey face orchids:
Monkey Face Orchid
photo via: Funkydowntown.com
photo: Columbus GV Team
photo: nation.com.pk
photo: Melissa, jamjarflowers.co.uk
This species of orchid, aptly named the Monkey Face Orchid (Dracula simia), was created after Mother Nature decided to do a bit of monkeying around (hah!). These rare orchids only grow in the cloud forests of southeastern Ecuador and Peru at elevations of 1,000-2,000 meters on the side of mountains. In the scientific name, “simia” refers to the monkey face and “Dracula” refers to the two long spurs that hang down, almost like fangs.
What makes this flower even cooler (as if it needed to get any more awesome) is that it smells just like a ripe orange when fully blossomed. Incredible!
Bee Orchid
photo: kingsdownkent.blogspot.com
photo via: jamjarflowers.co.uk
photo: wildflowersofireland.net
photo: Robert Thompson
This incredible orchid is called – can you guess? – the Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera). It resembles a female bumblebee visiting a pink flower to attract the attention of male bees. Thinking another one of their kind is there, they try to mate with it. In the process they get covered in the orchid’s pollen and end up spreading it around as they fly and pollinating other flowers as they go. You can find these amazing orchids scattered about England, Ireland, and Wales.
Bird’s Head Orchid
photo: Shannon
photo: Ferneygarcia
photo: Tom E.
photo: Edward Bray
This Pink Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis sp.) is absolutely gorgeous and amazingly cool for the sole reason that it looks like it has a little bird’s head guarding the nectar on the flower. It’s so well-formed that it almost looks like a little baby bird fell into the flower and got stuck there. I’m not exactly sure why the orchid looks like this but thank God it does! What a cute little orchid.
White Egret Orchid
photo via: notoverthehill.com
photo: notoverthehill.com

This elegant orchid is called the White Egret Orchid (Habenaria radiata) because it looks just like a… white egret! The flower looks like the bird is spreading its fluffy white feathers, getting ready to take off. Look, how similar are these guys?
photo: Stephen LeQuier
Dove Orchid
photo via: atheistuniverse.net
photo: M.a.h.S
photo: Saji Antony
Similar to the Pink Moth Orchid is this Holy Ghost Orchid (Peristeria elata) which also has a little hidden creature inside it. In this case though, it’s not just the head of a bird but an entire bird! A dove, to be exact. What a peaceful looking flower, don’t you think?
Flying Duck Orchid
photo: Michael Prideaux
photo: moloch05
photo: Robert Andrew Price
photo: gardeningoncloud9.com
So last but certainly not least is perhaps my favorite of all the orchids on the list – the Flying Duck Orchid (Caleana major). It’s a small orchid, about 50 cm tall, that grows in eastern and southern Australia. It’s the mots remarkable flower – it seriously looks just like a male duck in flight! Nature just amazes me.
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