BATH FLORA, FERTILISATION, ETC. 227 



against one of the pouches ; they then fly to another flower with 

 a pollinium attached to their heads, and there, l^ending down to 

 the base of the labellum, the polhnium, owing to its doubly-bent 

 caudicle, strikes the sticky stigmatic surface, and then leaves 

 the pollen on it." 



That insects do visit the flowers of the Fly Ophrys and 

 remove the pollinia, though not effectually or sufficiently, is 

 abundantly proved. A German botanist has suggested that the 

 appearance of the flower alarms insects ; as to whether this is so 

 or not I do not venture to give an opinion. One thing is certain 

 — that very few of the flowers get fertilised ; hence the compara- 

 tive rarity of the species. ]\Ir. Darwin writes: "The year 1 86 1 

 was extraordinarily favourable to this species in tliis part of Kent, 

 and I never saw such numbers in flower ; accordingly, I marked 

 eleven plants, which bore forty-nine flowers, but these produced 

 only seven capsules. Two of the plants each bore two capsules, 

 and three other plants each bore one, so that no less than six 

 plants did not produce a single capsule I What are we to con- 

 clude," asks the great naturalist, " from these facts ? Are the 

 conditions of life unfavourable to this species, though it was so 

 numerous in some places this year as to deserve being called 

 quite common ? Could the plant nourish more seed ; and would 

 it be of any advantage to it to produce more seed ? Why does it 

 produce so many flowers if a larger number of seeds would not be 

 advantageous to it ? Something seems to be out of joint in the 

 machinery of its life. AVe shall presently see what a remarkable 

 contrast another species of this same genus, Oplirys apifera, or 

 the Bee Ophrys, presents in producing seed." 



I will next direct your attention to this very interesting 

 member of the Ophrys family, the Piee Ophrys which grows so 

 abundantly in this district. I cannot do l)etter than cpiote 

 verbatim from Mr. Darwin. He observes : — " In the Bee 

 Ophrys we meet with widely different means of fertilisation as 

 compared with the other species of the genus, and, indeed, as far 

 as I know, with all other Orchids. The two jjouch-formed 

 rostellums, the viscid discs, and the position of the stigma, are 

 nearly the same as in otlier species of 0])hrys ; but, to my sur|)rise, 

 I have observed that the distance of the iwo pouches from each 



