The Queen of Sheba orchid (Thelymitra sp.)

Today was no different, at least it didn’t seem to be at first glance. The hard-working bee has been flying around when she chanced upon a flower which looked, and smelt, just like the tinsel lily. She happily dove straight in, picked up the pollen bags and sent them across to another cheerful lily. Only that, this time, there was no reward at the end of it. She looked around for her quota of free pollen; there was none to be found.

Hence sat the bee, forlorn about not being paid for services rendered, when I chanced upon her. The bee has my sympathies. The naïve bee had just been outwitted by a master manipulator, and one of the world’s rarest orchids, the Queen of Sheba – a plant that tricks the bees into helping with pollination by looking and smelling just like the tinsel lily.

The Queen of Sheba orchid is one of the world’s most exquisite and exclusive orchids. So rare, in fact, that the first one of the season makes it to newspaper headlines! A stunning botanical beauty, it features a single spiraling dark green leaf and up to five variegated red, purple or violet spotted flowers, with yellow margins and yellow or orange “arms”. It is one of Western Australia’s most protected species and can take nearly 7-10 years to put out its first flower. When it does finally unfurl its petals, botanists, flower lovers and photographers travel from all around the world to see the Queen in full bloom.

There’s a little trick that the orchid plays on its admirers too. Remember – for the Queen of Sheba orchid, mimicry and deception are key to its survival and propagation. As a master trickster, she has to keep changing her appearance to avoid being recognized and called out by her victims – the hapless bees. Hence, the floral patterns and coloring of Queen of Sheba orchids vary widely, even within flowers of the same species. The result – even the botanists, who have come looking for the Queen, have a tough time identifying the species when they finally stumble upon one!

If deception is an art, then the Queen of Sheba orchid is an artist practicing it at the highest level! She does not spend her precious energy making food (abundant pollen) or drinks (copious nectar) for pollinators; she simply copies the floral display patterns and scents of flowers that do – like the tinsel lily . Given that the ‘once bitten twice shy’ pollinators would not fall for her tricks a second time around, she simply changes her tactics, evading detection by changing her appearance at every given opportunity.

Evolution over millions of years has given this orchid the chance to refine her tactics; however, she finds herself ill-equipped while heading into the ultimate test of them all – a desperate struggle for survival against habitat loss due to urbanization. Along with the tinsel lily, its doppelgänger, the Queen of Sheba orchid, has been placed on the list of critically endangered species of Australia. The two mesmerizing flowers, once competing for the same pollinator, now face an enemy more formidable than any in their long evolutionary histories.

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