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...Xanthopan morganii praedicta, named in honour of its predicted existence by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, exclusively pollinates the Madagascar orchid, Angraecum sesquipedale. The proboscis of this hawk moth is long enough to reach the nectar receptacle of the orchid, which is between 20 and 35 cm (8 and 14 inches) in length.
...case, Charles Darwin, the English naturalist, predicted that a moth with a 25-centimetre-long proboscis would eventually be found on the island of Madagascar as the pollinator of the orchid Angraecum sesquipedale, since a moth would need a long tongue to reach the nectar hidden in the very long nectary at the base of the lip. Such a moth has been found and has been observed...
...parallel evolution, groups of insects appeared with sucking mouthparts capable of feeding on nectar. In extreme cases, there arose a complete mutual dependence. For example, a Madagascar orchid, Angraecum sesquipedale, with a nectar receptacle 20 to 35 cm (8 to 14 inches) long, depends for its pollination exclusively on the local race of a hawkmoth, Xanthopan morganii, which has a...
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