Many species look so much like their favorite insect that they insect mistakes and for kin. The harmony between an orchid and its pollinator is so perfect that it is kind of eerie. No one knows whether orchids evolved to complement insects or whether the orchids evolve first.
This week: a non-fiction book that sometimes reads a lot like fiction, The Orchid Thief is only a little about the titular thief and a LOT about Florida and its history and its denizens. Plus, "orchidelirium," the part of the 19th century where the English aristocracy would just go wild for these bad boys.