﻿384 Lovell : The Insect-Visitors of Flowers 



The mouth is 14 mm. wide and 5 mm. high at the apex of the 

 upper lip. At each angle there is a tuft of hairs and the margins 

 curve downward to exclude rain. This entrance is none too large 

 to admit species of Bombus, which I have seen leave flowers be- 

 cause of the difficulty of entering and fly to others with larger 

 openings. In front of the mouth the three-lobed apex of the 

 lower lip forms a narrow convex landing-place. The sides turn 

 abruptly downward so that the upper portion is but 4 mm. broad 

 with pubescent edges. The body of the bee rests upon this land- 

 ing-place, while the legs grasp the hairy sides and the head is 

 brought directly in front of the corolla mouth. 



The four heart-shaped anthers, about 4 mm. long, lie well for- 

 ward in the angle formed by the sides of the upper lip. Their 

 inner faces are applied together to form a single pollen-receptacle. 

 The contiguous edges are densely woolly to protect the pollen 

 and to prevent the relative displacement of the anthers by con- 

 necting the first pair above and the first and second pairs at the 

 sides. The point of attachment of the anther to the filament is 

 thin and membranous, permitting it to rotate freely. The broad 

 and flattened filaments arch outward and run downward and back- 

 ward to the base of the corolla. The inferior pair rest in two 

 grooves in the lower lip and hold the pollen-reservoir in place. 

 When a bee enters the flower it spreads apart the arched filaments 

 opening the receptacle and covering the thorax with fine, dry 

 grains of pollen. 



The style curves upward from the point of insertion to th< 

 keeled anterior portion of the upper lip. Behind it stands the ru- 

 diment of the fifth stamen. When the flower expands the capitate 

 stigma is appressed to the corolla above the pollen-receptacle. B 

 is exserted by the gradual growth of the style, until it stands in 

 the mouth where an insect entering the flower must come in con- 

 tact with it. In the absence of guests self-fertilization would prob- 

 ably not occur, for no pollen could be detected on the stigma of 

 flowers kept in my room during the entire period of inflorescence. 



The flowers are faintly sweet-scented, white with reddish hp^ 



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and honey is secreted on the upper side of a yellow fleshy rin 

 which is protected by the hairy filaments. Three or four flower 

 upon each spike usually bloom at the same time. In this locality 



