Darwin Orchid Predicted Giant Moth

In 1862, British naturalist Charles Darwin studied a Madagascar orchid, Angraecum sesquipedale, with nectar hidden deep inside an unusually long spur. He predicted that a moth with an extraordinarily long tongue must exist to reach the nectar and pollinate the flower. In 1903, scientists identified the Madagascan sphinx moth. This moth was later recognized as Xanthopan praedicta, which has a proboscis long enough to fit Darwin’s prediction. The discovery became a famous example of evolution making a risky scientific prediction look almost impossibly precise.

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