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Many species rely on a little chemical con artistry for survival, but an international research team has uncovered a particularly crafty sting involving deceitful plants, kleptoparasitic flies, and honeybees. In this ruse, the hustler is the South African parachute plant Ceropegia sandersonii and its mark is Desmometopa—the so-called freeloader fly—the plant’s primary pollinator. To lure in the flies, the plant appears to chemically mimic a staple of the Desmometopa diet: honeybees captured by spiders and other predators (Curr. Biol. 2016, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.085). As honeybees attempt to fend off their attackers, they secrete a cornucopia of volatile compounds from their stingers and glands, which theflies interpret as an invitation to dinner. Using GC/MS, researchers led by Stefan Dötterl of the University of Salzburg and Annemarie Heiduk of the University of Bayreuth found that 60% of the compounds emitted by distressed honeybees are also emitted by the plant. Furthermore,
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