Pollen

In 1862, naturalist Charles Darwin received a box of orchids, including the Madagascar star orchid. It had an 11.5 inch nectary, the place where flowers make the nectar that insects and birds eat. He determined that the only way this flower was pollinated was by a giant moth with an 11.5 inch proboscis. A moth with a long proboscis was cataloged on Madagascar in 1903, but it took almost ninety years to prove Darwin's theory. Includes information on the Madagascar hawk moth, the Madagascar star orchid, and pollination.