Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds (1871) is an oil on mahogany panel picture by Martin Johnson Heade acquired by the National Gallery of Art in 1982. Inspired perhaps by the works of Charles Darwin and Frederic Edwin Church, Heade planned to produce a deluxe book in the 1860s depicting Brazilian hummingbirds in tropical settings, and, to that end, created a series of 40 small pictures called "The Gems of Brazil". The project was abandoned, but Heade retained his interest in hummingbirds and continued to paint them in combination with orchids and jungle backgrounds through the
Flower constancy (LTM) or "reference memory", which stores information for hours or more. One of the most widespread explanations for flower constancy is that insects can only identify and handle one flower type or species at a time. Conversely, there are others that argue that insects, for example bees, can store large amounts of information (location of nest, flower patches, and existence of surrounding landmarks) in their LTM or reference memory. The learning investment hypothesis refers to the ability of an insect to learn a motor skill to handle and obtain nectar from a flower type or species. Learning these motor skills