NEET2018BotanySexual Reproduction in Flowering PlantsActual
Assertion : Colpa aurea is a specialised pollinating agent of orchid Ophrys speculum. Reason : Male Colpa mistakes the Ophrys flower for female wasp to copulate with it.
Options
- AIf both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
- BIf both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
- CIf assertion is true but reason is false.
- DIf both assertion and reason are false.
Correct answer
A. If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
Step-by-step solution
For its pollination, the orchid Ophrys speculum has picked the most selective attraction in the entire animal kingdom. It is pollinated by a hairy wasp, Colpa aurea. The wasp has a fixed habit whereby its males leave the burrows for above ground existence about four weeks before the females emerge for the open air mating. The orchid opens its flowers about the same time the males appear and they possess an appearance and odour similar to those possessed by the female wasp. The inexperienced males mistake the Ophrys