The meadows here in Hampshire are full of Common Spotted Orchids often with some Pyramidal Orchids. As with many other flowers, they rely on insects for pollination but they have a trick to try and ensure that this is more successful. They hold their pollen in aggregates called pollinia connected to elongate stipes. These are attached to the flower by a sticky viscidium. When certaininsects such as Bees visit the flower they stick to the head or tongue and are then trnasported to the next flower it visits. The club-shaped pollinia are clearly visible in the photos or the Red-Tailed Bumble Bee.
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