300 The Romance of Wild Flowers 
additional antenne, at which point they remain 
fixed. Often a bee, finding that he has become 
burdened with these pollinia, strives to scrape them 
off with his fore-feet, but rarely with success: the 
cement hardens in the course of three or four 
seconds, and they become immovable by such efforts, 
though when they have drooped forward they can 
be partially bitten off by the mandibles. When, 
however, the bee visits another Orchis flower, the 
pollinia with the greatest accuracy are pushed 
against the stigma, which being sticky detaches 
some of their pollen-grains. 
This process may be closely watched by lying 
down near the flowers and waiting for the bees; 
but it may also be imitated with greater con- 
venience by gathering a spike of the flowers and 
pushing the point of a 
pocket-pencil into the spur. 
It will be found that the 
wood near the point will 
touch against the rostellum, 
and if now withdrawn the 
pollinia will be seen attached 
to this part. The partial 
drooping can then be wit- 
nessed, and when this has 
? | ceased, the pencil may be 
Early Purple Orchis: side view | pushed into another flower 
in order to witness how 
accurately the pollinia strike the stigma. A bee 
will visit only about four flowers on each spike, and 
if neither of these has been previously visited it will 
take away four pairs of pollinia, but the time spent 
