THE FLOWER AND THE BEE 



ways between the sepals and petaloid styles, suck the nectar. 

 Indeed, it may easily happen in the case of some irregular 

 flowers, as the larkspur, that butterflies may visit them nor- 

 mally and obtain the nectar, and yet not touch either the 

 anthers or stigmas with their slender tongue. 



Butterfly-flowers, as has been previously pointed out, are 

 commonly red-colored. Among the Alpine butterfly-flowers 

 which have red corollas are Orchis globosa, Lilium bulbiferum, 

 the heath Erica carnea; the pinks, Dianthus superhus, D. sylves- 

 tris, D. atroruher; Daphne striata, and Primula acaule, and several 

 other primroses. Other red butterfly-flowers are species of 

 Silene, Lychnis, Asclepias, and Monarda. "It is certainly not 

 purely accidental," says Mueller, "that most of the butterflies 

 of the Alps, the commonest floral guests in that region, are 

 vivid- red in color, and that bright-red flowers are visited with 

 marked preference by such butterflies." Mueller further ob- 

 served that orange-hued composite flowers, such as hawk's- 

 beard {Crepis aurea) and orange hawkweed {Hieracium auran- 

 tiacum) are a veritable playground in sunny weather for 

 butterflies of fiery-red color. Two copper-colored butterflies 

 were also observed to fly to the bright-red fruits of the sorrel. 

 This remarkable correlation certainly deserves careful consider- 

 ation by students of the color-sense of insects. 



There would seem to be no a priori reason why red butter- 

 flies may not be strongly influenced by red flowers. The orna- 

 mental coloring of their wings is largely the result of sexual 

 selection; and, since the different sexes readily recognize each 

 other, it is not improbable that in seeking nectar they are 

 specially attracted by flowers of the same color as themselves. 

 This view is strengthened by the fact that blue butterflies may 

 show a preference for blue flowers, e. g., blue species of Lycoena, 

 have been seen to favor the blue blossoms of Phyteuma. 



134 



