Pruate XLIV. 
OPHRYS insectiFera, Linn. 
Natural Order OrcHIDACER. 
Gun. Cuar.—See description of Plate XLIII. 
Spec. Cuar.—Ditto. 
Hasirat.—Banks in western and eastern bays, from shore-level to 
about 600 feet elevation. End of March and April. 
Remarxs.—During the -past spring (1865) I watched almost from 
day to day the development of flower after flower, and carefully noted 
‘the dates at which the varying forms appeared. I had known from 
my previous three years’ experience that O. aranifera, Huds. (repre- 
sented at letter A, Plate XLIII.), comes into flower in December, and 
_ O. apifera, Huds. (represented at letters M and N in Plate XLV.), in 
May, while the intermediate varieties appear in February, March, and 
April respectively ; but it was not till the present season that I became 
thoroughly convinced of the intimate connection which exists between 
the sequence in which each variety flowers and its approximation to 
one of the extreme forms. Thus at Mentone a definite order seems to 
be maintained among these forms, and one which accords with their 
respective degrees of similarity to form A. The rule is that during 
January and February there is but little change, except that towards 
the end of the latter month the sepals grow pale and lose the green 
colouring-matter, and the petals become purplish-brown. larly in 
March, flowers with whitish or pink-tinted petals and sepals appear, 
and by the end of that month the petals, which were flat and smooth 
before, become slightly pubescent and occasionally a trifle recurved. 
As soon as April is well commenced, the lip, which has already shown 
more or less rudimentary stages of a terminal process, becomes strongly 
apiculated and variously bossed and lobed; the petals become reflexed, 
downy, and even velvety, and the varieties creep, step by step, onwards 
towards O. scolopax, Cav. (represented at letter K, Plate XLV.), which 
appears quite at the end of the month, and forms in its varying cha- 
racters the nearest link to O. apifera, Huds., the atest of all. I cannot 
regard this sequence as fortuitous, but rather am led to surmise that 
laws new to me are here in operation. (Continued in “ Remarks” on 
the following Plate.) 
ExpLanation or Prats XLIV.—Fig. E 1, the flat, ciliated petal 
of form E. Fig. F 1, lip of form F, seen from above. Vig. F 2, the 
