This flower is Darwin’s star orchid. The story goes that a biologist named Charles Darwin was sent a sample of this flower in 1862. He quickly noticed the flower’s long, narrow tube for storing nectar. Orchid flowers cannot spread pollen on their own, so he predicted that there must be an insect with a very long proboscis (a tongue-like part) that could reach the bottom of the tube to drink the nectar. When the insect used its long tongue to drink, the flower’s sticky pollen would attach to the insect’s tongue. Then, as the insect flew to another flower, it would bring the pollen with it.

Question

But no one had ever seen an insect like this in Madagascar where the orchid came from. And many scientists thought Darwin was wrong about his prediction. Still, Darwin believed that the star orchid had developed its long nectar tube as an adaptation that would help it get pollinated. This helps the orchid reproduce, and it gives the insect a guaranteed food supply.
Sure enough, about forty years after Darwin’s prediction, an insect with the exact physical characteristics that Darwin had predicted was discovered. Called the Hawk Moth, its scientific name is Xanthopan morganii praedicta, which is Latin for ‘predicted moth’ in honor of Darwin.
The star orchid turned out to be a perfect example of coevolution, where two organisms—insect and flower—affect each other’s ability to grow and adapt.

Question 2

In this activity, you will see short pieces of text (called excerpts) taken from the reading about the star orchid and the Hawk Moth. Your job is to sort each excerpt into the correct category based on what it describes.

Categories:
Structure: Describes what the orchid or the Hawk Moth looks like or their physical features.
Function: Describes what the orchid or the Hawk Moth does or its job.
Working Together: Describes how the orchid and the Hawk Moth help each other or interact.
What to Do:

Read each excerpt carefully.
Drag the excerpt into the category that best fits what it describes: Structure, Function, or Working Together.
Take your time and think about what each excerpt is telling you! You can check your answer 3 times before turning it in.

(4 points)
Put responses in the correct input to answer the question. Select a response, navigate to the desired input and insert the response. Responses can be selected and inserted using the space bar, enter key, left mouse button or touchpad. Responses can also be moved by dragging with a mouse.
Structure Function Orchid and insect working together

Answer 1

Sure! Here are the excerpts categorized into the appropriate sections based on their descriptions:

Structure:

• "Darwin quickly noticed the flower’s long, narrow tube for storing nectar."
• "Called the Hawk Moth, its scientific name is Xanthopan morganii praedicta, which is Latin for ‘predicted moth’ in honor of Darwin."

Function:

• "Orchid flowers cannot spread pollen on their own, so he predicted that there must be an insect with a very long proboscis (a tongue-like part) that could reach the bottom of the tube to drink the nectar."
• "This helps the orchid reproduce, and it gives the insect a guaranteed food supply."

Working Together:

• "Darwin believed that the star orchid had developed its long nectar tube as an adaptation that would help it get pollinated."
• "Sure enough, about forty years after Darwin’s prediction, an insect with the exact physical characteristics that Darwin had predicted was discovered."
• "The star orchid turned out to be a perfect example of coevolution, where two organisms—insect and flower—affect each other’s ability to grow and adapt."

Feel free to move these responses into the designated categories!