﻿Lovell : The Ixsect-Yisitors of Flowers 389 



Lee; (26) Orsodadina atra Ahr.; (g) Curculionidae : (27) A ntJion- 



omus corvulus Lee; (28) Conotracluius nenuphar Hbst. June 19- 

 July 1. 



Aralia racemosa L. American Spikenard. 



The size of this species is very variable and in rich, open wood- 

 lands may exceed six feet. In three umbels the number of 

 flowers respectively was 39, 44, and 49. Proterandrous dichogamy 

 is strongly developed as in the Umbelliferae. When the flowers 

 open the styles are united and only a millimeter in length, while 

 the stamens are three millimeters long, and stand erect with the 

 anthers horizontal or inclining outward. The smaller diptera 

 thrust their heads between the stamens, but the bodies of the 

 larger pass over them. The first period of the inflorescence closes 

 with the falling away of the stamens and petals. 



Subsequently the styles elongate until about 3 mm. long, sepa- 

 rate, and finally are reflexed. The stigmas are terminal and 

 oblique, prolonged along the inner side of the style. For so 



small a flower the honey is abundant, and may be seen in minute 

 drops on the epigynous disk. During the intermediate stage its 

 secretion nearly ceases. The association of the flowers in a com- 

 munity permits insects to visit them rapidly ; the honey-bee will 

 make some forty visits in a minute, and Lucilia eomicina in the 

 same time will examine twenty-six flowers. 



The flowers are frequented by a large number of the less 

 socialized hymenoptera, such as the ichneumon-flies and wasps. 

 Bees with the exception of the honey-bee are not common. Of 

 butterflies, Argynnis aphrodite is a very frequent visitor, other 

 species are rarer. The diptera form a large and varied company. 



Visitors: A. Hymenoptera— (a) Apidae : (1) Apis mellifica L., 

 S: (2) Bomlms ternarius Say, $ ; (3) B. tcrricola Kirby, $; (4) 

 B - vagans Sm., S ; (/;) Andrenidae : (5) Andre na couunoda Sm., $ ; 



i 6 )A. rugosa Rob., $; (7) Halictus fwcipentds Sm., ?; (8) 

 fyssomi Rob., 9; (9) Prosopis sp.; (10) Avgochlora aurata 



^ m - ?; (11) Sphecodes dechroaSm., S\ (c) Vespidae : (12) Vespa 



dtabolica Sauss. , $; (13) V. consobrina Sauss., g; (14) V. sp., $ ; 



[ 5) V. maculate Fab., $; (d) Eumenidae : (16) Eumencs f rater uns 

 Sa >'- * ; (e) Crabronidae: (17) Crabro nigrifrons Cr., <? ; (18) C. 



H. 



