The sexual deception of orchids - Anne Gaskett

Check out the fascinating ways orchids trick insects into pollinating, using sexual deception, pheromones and mimicking the shapes of other plants.
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Nearly 28,000 species of orchid grow all around the world, bearing every imaginable color, shape and pattern. There’s a cunning purpose behind these elaborate displays: many orchids trick insects into pollinating, sometimes even into having sex with them. How do they deploy these deceptive tactics? Anne Gaskett dives into the surprisingly complex ways orchids attract insects.
Lesson by Anne Gaskett, directed by Mette Ilene Holmriis.
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View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/the-sexual...
Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Farah Abdelwahab, Joe Meyers, Mikhail Shkirev, Raphaël LAURENT, Malcolm Callis, Sweetmilkcoco, David Matthew Ezroj, Ever Granada, fatima kried, Begum Tutuncu, Mehmet Sencer KARADAYI, Christian Kurch, SungGyeong Bae, Luis Felipe Ruiz Langenscheidt, Joe Huang, Rohan Gupta, Senjo Limbu, Martin Lau, Robson Martinho, Jason Garcia, Cailin Ramsey, Aaron Henson, John Saveland, Nicolle Fieldsend-Roxborough, ReuniteKorea, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, Sandy Nasser, QIUJING L BU, Yoga Trapeze Wanderlust, Jaron Blackburn, Alejandro Cachoua, Thomas Mungavan, Elena Crescia, Edla Paniguel, Sarah Lundegaard, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Tim Armstrong, Erika Blanquez, Ricki Daniel Marbun, zjweele13 , Judith Benavides, Ken , Caitlin de Falco, James Bruening, Michael Braun-Boghos, Ricardo Diaz, Kack-Kyun Kim, Alexandrina Danifeld, Danny Romard and Yujing Jiang.

[@Taikamuna]

1:30 someone actually had to animate this

[@ghostburger0156]

Innit

[@fulcrum2951]

Don't y'all dare think about it

[@turtleruski1915]

Animator: No, I’m sorry lord, I am forced to.

[@marlonyo]

probably the one that worked on the end of evangelion

[@itzemily4056]

Crack The Puzzle omg...

[@meherunnesamunni8243]

It’s weird how we give flowers which are basically plant genitalia to show love and appreciation to others

[@micanikko]

Always thought that was funny too. lmao. Thank god im not the only one.

[@IsratJahan-bs3xm]

.!?

[@bluesky_cupy5158]

@@IsratJahan-bs3xm it's true

[@entropy8902]

I know... Humans are weird...

[@zomblyacopalypse6469]

Okay I just realized that and now I'm creeped out

[@pr.yanshi]

Even flowers can find their valentines... My crush doesn't even know I exist.

[@godswatching2863]

Tell them even if they don't like you like that it'll still flatter them

[@taylor.annalise1]

NewOnKZbin Welcome to the club 😂

[@cooltrg2156]

NewOnKZbin me too 😔

[@slovakthrowback3738]

You gotta go to them and tell em! c:

[@ALifeOfWine]

Christ my man don't take the advice of "go tell her", it'll never end well. Build up some good traits first that will make you an attractive person and then put yourself in a position to be noticed by her. Once she's noticed you, and noticed the positive traits you've got, then you can go tell her. Good traits include, exercise, social hobbies, exuberant confidence... But not a specific skill like a magic trick or playing the guitar (unless you're impressively good at it).

[@feynstein1004]

This just in: even plants are starting to catfish. Please be careful while in the vicinity of orchids.

[@cesargeney5268]

new insult. "You are such an orchid"

[@ADAJ342]

Omg yes , my repertoire of insults to make people feel like uncultured swines also includes "don't be a coprolite" and "you seem to suffer from dendrite inneficiency ". Thanks for the new addition!

[@cesargeney5268]

@@ADAJ342 dendrite ineficiency, eh? Thats a good one

[@ADAJ342]

Thanks

[@ceruleanmemoir]

@@ADAJ342 I didnt quite get the dendrite inefficiency. Would you care to explain please?

[@malatimondal2012]

希ᴋɪʙᴏ dendrite addiction ....

[@PandaBeatsStudios]

*New Ted-Ed video is released on Valentine’s Day* Oh boy, must be something about Valentine’s - “The sexual deception of orchids” ...Huh?

[@christopherrhodes3228]

Is there a difference?

[@clementine5518]

XD

[@rajeshpalejwala]

@@christopherrhodes3228 I think they expected TED-ed to upload something like 'the history of Valentine's day' or something... But hey, this works too🤣🤣🤣

[@random_idot1484]

LOL

[@FrankCastle-he8fl]

Next you will catch the neighbor banging a tree

[@CDio-vr3bx]

brings tree hugger to a whole new level

[@benjaminbeard3736]

What do you mean "will"...

[@castiel1510]

Ew.. Its beautiful.

[@slovakthrowback3738]

Same.

[@gazepreyed]

Gives a whole new meaning to "The flowers and the bees"

[@clementine5518]

*When a flower has a better chance at getting a valentine than you do*

[@Ayayron_e3]

ummm... happy valentine's to you too?

[@taradouglas5181]

I'm don't think that bee wasn,t thinking about at that point??😮😱

[@apondi5298]

Ahahahahaha. This is killing me.

[@fahganindo]

You want to be massacare boy?

[@EHaoK1]

Abdulrahman Arafah what does your comment mean?? tf??

[@BobMcCoy]

*I want to be an Orchid when I grow up*

[@8cto289]

_Bob McCoy yes do do, yes you do

[@ethanchien6803]

get all the male bees

[@surajtiwari2614]

_Bob McCoy Tarzans would make love with you

[@jbtamang2307]

lol

[@sarveshkarki5398]

So you would like to get smashed by insects

[@TommoCarroll]

The Deceived: *Y-Orchidding me!* If anyone gets this play on words I'm going to be so impressed 😅

[@aaronsen6885]

Aspect Science Is the pun “Your kidding me” 👌👌🤣

[@mr.sadaftomar7361]

Why u r kidding me?

[@seyedmohammadmiraei9603]

Waiting for your jelly fish video to be uploaded my friend

[@gr8life12]

I haven't got a clue 🤔 are you disappointed?

[@reidshiftem6509]

ew kill me

[@KKapp.n]

even a flower can get a valentine.. 😔

[@KKapp.n]

also 2:04 that's some intense thrusting right there lmfao

[@leilaabdi1907]

GEM happy valentine

[@4ru-brawlstars111]

Lol I don't have a gf so I don't care about valentine's Day

[@shresthanirdes]

I thought it was already amazing that plants are such good alchemists, but their ability to mimic certain features from those in the animal kingdom is truly mind blowing. How do the orchids figure out what a female of a particular insect species looks like anyways? It's hard to imagine up plants' perspective being a creature equipped with the tools (eyes) to obtain surrounding info so conveniently.

[@pickledjellochronicles3029]

They don’t. It’s something they evolved. The plant doesn’t do it on purpose, it has just evolved to grow that way.

[@shresthanirdes]

@@pickledjellochronicles3029 Indeed. Over the years, I've grown accustomed to the fact that evolution has no goal and all those niche adaptations are products of random mutations that worked out. Still, evolution never ceases to astonish. The variety of specialised features organisms of all kinds bring into existence given enough time is truly amazing.

[@Rei-invented]

Idk I think plants can sense light

[@RoseOnEarth]

Lately (because of human impact on the ecosystem) the number of insects has drastically gone down, so if these species dissapear, all of the beautiful orchids will also go extinct :( and it's not only orchids, but also our food supplies for example bc insects (like bees) don't carry pollen from plant to plant anymore. Please help to protect our environment, it's not too late! :)

[@user-om9cf2tl8k]

:(

[@johnxporter]

:(

[@TP-tg8cc]

:(

[@noahway13]

Oh, what a lovely and caring person. The world needs more people like you.

[@volactic5240]

They will imitate humans

[@mayah7063]

I just wonder how weird the scientist's conversation about what they were studying for the past year was like...😂

[@mayah7063]

That's kinda cool, thanks!😁

[@aestheticeditz2885]

scientist 1: soo...the bee...thinks its getting laid...but its a flower scientist 2: yeah...I quit

[@flatknatbread60]

When ur watching this and ur mom comes in Mom : what is this? Me:.... school project Mom: ok * suspicious eyes*

[@harshithgowni1528]

To be fair it actually is.

[@zomblyacopalypse6469]

Lol true tho

[@roshan7961]

Wonderful animations. Your work inspires me Ted -Ed

[@abduskazi]

New simile- As deceptive as an orchid.....

[@rosaindica7896]

Woah... I really like this one

[@siddhantkamble291]

Ok so I have this in my syllabus. Thank you for the video!!

[@anantprakash6499]

me too lmao

[@Su_MythX]

Me too in class 12 the bio

[@vayanraj5507]

Orchid ophrys

[@agatha___6659]

So it's like a bug's waifu ?

[@cesargeney5268]

no. a bug's body pillow

[@dfokg]

Yes .. they trick weeb and neckbeard bees

[@LucineDaBee]

@@cesargeney5268 true

[@bauokim956]

Gamer bug bath water UwU

[@stephenwalsh4481]

Yeah

[@ravlak122]

the animations....the music.....everything about this video is so interesting and beautiful. Its amazing how ted-ed never disappoints us. you guys are great at giving education!

[@karlweiser]

It’s amazing how they get information on animals without eyes and store them in the form of DNA. What sorcery is this ?

[@pilosopher974]

hmm, so i am not the only one curious about it :)

[@ShadesofViolet8]

It's not sorcery. It's not evolution. It's how it's designed by God.

[@xPrinnii_Ari]

​@@ShadesofViolet8 Exactly

[@mynuttyme]

​@@ShadesofViolet8 came here to say the same haha

[@ShadesofViolet8]

@@mynuttyme Haha 😄

[@seewardone]

So basically orchids are temptresses ♥️

[@astigmatismcouple7112]

Omg, insects humping flowers. Now I've seen everything.

[@blizzkinggaming6587]

Humans humping flowers

[@fatimataghiyeva4232]

I am amazed at this animation which made the delicate features of orchids much more intriguing. Really appreciated work Ted Ed. I was exploring orchids because of a Turkish beverage called sahlep which is made from orchid powder, learned much more things than I expected.

[@Ayush-Garg745]

I paused the video to read the funny comments i thought would be here.. *I Am Dissapointed*

[@medardbitangimana4580]

I would love to interview the animators about how they created those pumping cycles :)

[@atlasllm]

Bug, seeing an orchid for the first time: lord show me how to say no to this

[@readyourbible6263]

Yay new video, the rate at which they release videos is amazing

[@super_shag8685]

Orchids :The Body Pillows of the Incectoid world don't @ me

[@fulcrum2951]

@

[@fantasyshadows3207]

@@@

[@fantasyshadows3207]

@@@@@@@@@@@

[@fantasyshadows3207]

@@

[@plursocks]

"what did you do on Valentine's day" "I watched a bee bang a flower"

[@TheRealThickiminaj]

This was so poetic. Nature really did that. wow

[@donstarfinkel6456]

What did I just watch ?? The orchids getting more cutty than me.. another amazing TEDed.. I always liked orchids !! Happy Valentines Day !!!

[@LivingGuy484]

2:16 I... I legitimately can't believe that someone had to animate this

[@zteir]

Ik

[@junkytboy]

This is great, I'm actually reading "The Orchid Theif" right now and I'm slowly obsessing over them.

[@tusharrajput6192]

That's a nice Valentine gift from TED-Ed.Thanks

[@petersalucci5444]

I love orchids. They are my favourite type of plant/flower

[@rikenm]

1:35 that grin :))))

[@benl4467]

This is going to happen to us one day. Teded is warning us!

[@monroerobbins7551]

Didn’t expect to see something like this today!

[@vedaant3998]

Keep uploading such content!

Well done and presented 👍

[@JustAnotherMe]

beautiful animations as usual, but I want to see the actual pictures of those orchids now.

[@ifl-_-]

now we gotta kink-shame the frickin orchids

[@tessnapinas9979]

never knew orchid were this Fascinating!!

[@robinalonso3466]

Gracias, Timaná. Me has abierto los ojos hacia la vida

[@manymoonsago3909]

Insects: Pikachu face

[@olgaburlica1553]

this deserves much more likes dhgsgs

[@tlouitas]

My brother walked in on me watching this and screamed XD Happy Valentine’s Day!

[@ethanalincastre]

Thank you Ted-Ed!

[@eggboi4517]

2:20 Quick reminder that someone had to... *_voice this single clip_*

[@mjstory1976]

Awesome and informative video

[@sleyaraze8916]

I really watched a bee humping orchid on Ted Ed lol

[@edgarmh9259]

Hi. I want to thank you for your great work and I wanted to ask. They do not have podcasts of their videos. I'd love to hear them on some platform

[@svetlanadelight8969]

Amazing , thank you very much

[@podracer35]

This wasn't a video I was expecting to see from this channel. Well done, but also kinda funny

[@EnseiMada]

I had a giggle when I saw my notification. I was currently reading an Enchi manga when this notif. pops up.

[@EnseiMada]

P.S. If someone is curious what I'm reading its Domestic Girlfriend or Domestic na Kanojo. Currently im in Chapter 55 when this pops up so...

[@antar8691]

Me too

[@antar8691]

@@EnseiMada oh my god I was reading domestic girlfriend chapter 218

[@darkknight7696]

I loved your bat and Batman video And you are becoming great day by day Thanks for this video 💗

[@jd00313]

It's fascinating how orchids have managed to evolve such elaborate ways to spread pollen! You would think it'd be much easier to evolve another way to reproduce without having to rely on spreading a fine powder stuck to the backs of different species across large distances...

[@ShadesofViolet8]

The orchid's design and the way they lure isn't via random "evolution" or chance. As you can see, it's designed specifically this way and has a specific function and design to lure a species or a specific specie of insect in order to pollinate. This information only comes from the Creator. Not some random molecule eventually evolving into a flower then magucally knew to lure insects to survive and that insects need them to survive so animals can also survive etc. This has a purpose. It's designed that way.

[@goodwinsolly20C]

Great knowledge

[@webby3109]

I love orchids. They’re my favorite type of flower.

[@sofiachiaramonte9990]

mom, “whatcha watching” me: something educational?

[@bluelight6517]

Orchids never stop surprising me

[@soupeydoopey]

The lines at 4:50 were quite pretty

[@philgamer_309]

Tbh this channel is practically a book in a form of videos

[@mattcatdoodles]

This video makes me look at orchids in a strange new way

[@ryanrockers]

Same thing happened to me with a Georgia O'Keeffe painting.

[@arcticfoxanimations3540]

I don't need to say it, but this channel makes hard things simple to understand

[@--Paws--]

My favorite group of plants.

[@johneckerd1750]

Nature is amazing

[@eugenef0zzy]

The earth is so amazing everything is truly connected

[@derangedxxo6352]

I have orchids at my house..now I might be able to witness this live😋😋😋

[@evelynwong4102]

Her voice is great.

[@taptapuyo2714]

Orchids: dear animals, you’ve been bamboozled.

[@viiiderekae]

0:11 Grammatophyllum speciosa.. its really common here in Malaysia

[@s3ptehic]

TED-Ed now explain how plants know how insects look like

[@theminish8710]

Sweet animation

[@Karamelaki]

Looking at the orchids in my sitting room right now… you got some power ah 😌

[@rommeljuneqflores1368]

Now i know why my mom loves orchids so much

[@alcameat9153]

Exuberant. I just learnt a new word.

[@sakurachangt7237]

Orchids. My new favorite.

[@aaronsen6885]

Nice video 👍

[@NicoloMVilla]

It would be great if there were references in the description

[@Janexcalibur]

In Buddhist mythology there is the "nariphon," a tree which bears fruits in the shape of attractive women. These fruits would tempt lustful hermits and monks in the forest, who would have their way with them, fall asleep and lose their magical powers.

[@SurajSharma-qp5oj]

Orchids convinced Ted to create this video 🌸

[@lucasgamer8886]

Very good

[@blackhagalaz]

Orchids are awesome and since the "Orchid Mania" their fascination to mankind will never fade. There are still Orchid hunters out there risking their life's to discover new species. They are just enchanting. To insects as well as humans XD. It where this very strategies of native orchids that helped Darwin himself with his research about the way plants evolve. For every Orchid enthusiast I highly recommend the book by Jim Endersby, Orchid:a cultural history.

[@ineurologist4470]

Thank you so much for your recommendation. I just bought this book thanks to you. I read the introduction and I have learned a lot.

[@Qlegal]

Top Video ! Like !

[@jp4431]

2:19 I've never thought about an insect ejaculating and now I can't unthink this

[@billyferangga193]

Any recommended book about orchid?

[@dragonhall3526]

And the bee 🐝 enters the chat...

[@Vishal-np9pe]

What a vid this is!!

[@drac3264]

I need this technique to lure ladies

[@alexcunningham1647]

If your Dracula you can just house your vampire magic duh

[@alexcunningham1647]

Use*

[@samhaines8228]

mind blowing!

[@MedatonOrtano]

I love this series, and I love the animations especially, like, seriously, I Patreon y'all, but this one might have been better with photos

[@newyorkrat2546]

2:07 he wasn’t even humping it, he was shaking it. 😂

[@captainstark5496]

Disgustingly amazing

[@LiaAwesomeness]

i have never related to a flower so much in my life

[@reese1719]

".....what?" - Both animator and voice actor