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Indigenous to Nicaragua, Colombia, and Venezuela, Stanhopea wardii gives off a strong medicinal fragrance that attracts male bees. They collect the flowers' perfume and store it for their courtship of females in specialized organs on their hind legs. Experts believe that female bees choose their mates based on the quantity and diversity of the males' collected scents. This process of sexual selection is similar to how a female peacock rates a male's plumage, but on a chemical basis as opposed to a visual one.
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