The Mystery of the Deceptive Daisy's Fake Flies Unraveled.

Scientists have discovered how the South African daisy Gorteria diffusa evolved to mimic the appearance of female flies to attract pollinators. The daisy's petals range from pale yellow to bright red-orange, some with spots that form a circle around the flower's center. The evolution of this species' variety of features was recently mapped to determine the order in which the traits evolved to culminate in such a convincing deception: it revealed color first, then random positioning, then texture. The daisy brought together existing genes, which already do other things in different parts of the plant, to make a complicated spot on the petals that deceives male flies.