What are pollinators?

Rowers are known to employ all manner of trickery to attract pollinators, from taking the shape of an insect mate to emitting wafts of rotting flesh. A South African flower lures in its main pollinators, Desmometopa flies, with the scent of a fresh meal. The flower produces a cocktail of chemicals that mimics those released by a wounded honey bee, drawing flies into a pollen-coated chamber.

Early in the evolution of a complex, technology-based product, engineers experiment with different ways of putting the components together. Eventually, a dominant product architecture emerges — one that sets standards for components and how they relate to one another. At this stage, engineers working on the products are consciously aware of the rationale behind the dominant design. They have the architectural knowledge to understand how a change in one component affects the performance of others and to manage trade-offs as components evolve.