Question

An orchid resembling the female of an insect so as to be able to get pollinated is due to the phenomenon of
A) Mimicry
B) Pseudocopulation
C) Pseudo Pollination
D) Pseudo Parthenocarpy

Answer 1

The pollination in Orchids is usually similar like other plants, where the pollination occurs by the pollinators and the pollen is landed on the stigma and it reaches through style by forming the pollen tubes and fertilization of one or more ovules occurs.

Complete answer:
In orchids the flowers attract the pollinators it shows mimicry, generally mimicry is very rare in plants when compared to the animals.
Where the orchid pollinators are bees, this attracts the pollinators by visual and at the same time by also chemical and tactile.
And at the same time, orchid also mimics both the ways of visual and olfactory where it is mainly to attract the female pollinators which in turn lure males, which helps in deposition and carrying of pollen.
So to attract them orchids are modified or adapted both morphologically and physiologically, so that they can attract the Social wasps and also their primary pollinators.
It also produces pollen type of material also in order to attract the pollinators and that type of pollen is not real pollen and they are called pseudo pollen, but they are produced not for pollination but for attracting, so it also a type of mimicry.

So, option (A), Mimicry is the correct option.

Note: Mimicry is one of the modes which is used by the plants rarely where orchids are one of them. The purpose of the mimicry is to attract the pollinators, for the pollination and the mimicry is commonly seen in animals compared to plants.