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68 



that the L, longipes of Bory was only a form of Z. sacchariiia^ T-.in. 

 Through the kindness of Mr. Collins I have been able to examine 

 specimens of the alga from the Maine coast, and it seems to me that 

 they belong to Z. saccharina^ in spite of the narrowness of the frond 

 and the long stipe. The forms included under Z. saccharina by Amer-^ 

 ican algologists do not with certainty all belong to that species, and' 

 it is possible that the broader northern forms belong rather to Z. 

 maxima (Gunner). But sufficient material has not yet been obtained 

 at different seasons of the year to make the diagnosis certain. In this 

 connection I may mention ttie Californian specimens at first distrib- 

 uted privately as Z. Andersonii, but later recognized as the Lessonia 

 Sinclairii oi Harvey. This is apparently the Laviinaria Ruprechtiana 

 of Le Jolis (/. t:.),of which he considers Laffi. saccharina^ var. aiigus- 

 tifolia, Post and Rupr., Illust. Alg., Tab, XI, Lam, longipes, J. Ag. 

 Spec. Alg., and Lessonia repcfis, Rupr., Alg. Ochot., to be synonyms. 

 Smce It was ascertained that the species called Z. Andersonii\^2.% the 

 same as Lessonia Sinclairii t\\Q manuscript name oi L. Andersoniih^^ 

 been appliedby Prof. Eaton and myself to a second species from 

 the California coast which belongs to the digitate division of the 

 genus and not to the section Saccharinae. 



Cambridge, Mass. 



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§ 6;^. Note on the Perforation of Flowers.— In the vicinity of 



Ithaca, N. Y., the flowers of Diceiilra Canadensis are all perforated, 

 year after year, as described by a correspondent'^of the Bulletin* 

 some years ago. Last spring, after a tiresome watch, I succeeded in 

 capturing the malefactor, which, in this case, proved to be one of 

 our very common humble-bees [Bombus Virgmiais, Oliv f) The 

 holes were cut m the manner described by the writer above referred 

 to, the bee begmnmg at or near the bottom of the flower-cluster, and 

 ascendmg ^vhen visiting the flowers normally. Flowers of the com- 

 mon blue^ violet, Viola ace ullata,wQX& not infrequently found with 

 '"" ~ cut in their snurs. hnf thp nntKor ,^f fK.=. ^,v„t,.- c 



not detected. 



The general impression seems to be that short-tongued humble- 

 bees are responsible for most of the perforations like these, thou-h 

 the hive-bee has been shown to perforate flowers in a few instances, 

 and It certamlv ,s not above frequently using those made by its 

 larger relatives.^ ^ 



fnr-f.fnl''fl^'^ ^T""',"*^' '''''^^' ^^^^ never been charged with per- 

 forating flowers for their nectar, and Mr. Darwin says that "no in- 

 sects except bees, with the single exception of wasps in the case of 

 Tfitoma, have sense enough, as far as I have observed, to profit bv 

 Je holes already made.^J Last year, while studying the flowers of 

 i?/^^^/;^.^^^, I noticed on one plant many which were perforated 

 near the base with round holes about 1.5 mm. in diameter^ \fter a 

 while I succeeded in detecting a white-faced hornet ( VesTa macufata 

 L.) in the act of c uUing^these^ holes with its mandibles, mid ttus ot 



Vol iii, p. 34. f Kindly identified by Mr. E. T. Cresson 

 f Cross and Self-Fertilization'fAmer.ed* .. ..f ' 



(Amer. ed.), p. 427, 





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