Flowers 



The changes which Dr. Klebs ^^ was able to bring 

 about in flowers, simply by altering their conditions 

 of life, are even more remarkable than any of these 

 instances. 



Those who have themselves studied the intimate con- 

 nections which exist between flowers, insects, and the 

 outside world, must surely be convinced that every 

 detail in the structure of a flower is of real importance. 

 Useless characters are exceedingly rare, or more pro- 

 bably do not occur. 



An excellent example may be quoted here to show 

 how diflicult it is to find a useless character. There is 

 a very queer resemblance in the flowers of bee orchis, 

 spider orchis, and fly orchid to their insect namesakes. 

 Surely this must be of no use whatever to the flowers 

 concerned. 



Two of these, Ophrys apifera and O. araneifera, are 

 visited by a certain small fly (Sarcophaga cernaria). 

 Bumble-bees are not wanted by these flowers, being 

 too large and vigorous for such delicate blossoms. 

 Some of the bee orchid were cut off and placed on paeony, 

 comfrey, and bryony flowers. The bumble-bees avoided 

 those flowers, apparently supposing that another bee 

 was visiting them. 



They also avoided flowers upon which the spider 

 orchis had been put, for this made them look like little 

 grey flowers on which a large spider or butterfly-like 

 creature had seated itself.^" 



So the mimicry of these orchids may really be of 

 some use ! 



At the same time, it is always possible to be a little 

 too clever, or rather to specialise too much, for the same 

 author found that in 1903 only 29 out of 1388 flowers 

 of O. muscifera had set seed (2.1 per cent.), and in 

 1904 only 79 out of 1048 flowers (7.5 per cent.). 



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