344 THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE IN THE FOREST. 
during a drought, this does not injure it, as the reservoir of food enables 
it to wait patiently and even flower under such conditions as might be 
fatal to many other orchids. As if this were not enough, several 
species have developed a faculty which is almost unique in plants, 
although well known in the case of bees, that of producing male or 
female according to circumstances. In the case of Catasetum tridenta- 
tum there are three distinct shapes of flowers, which differ so much from 
each other that, until Schomburgk found them growing on the same 
plant, they were described not only as separate species, but even differ- 
ent genera, The male was known as Myanthus barbatus, the female as 
Monachanthus viridis, while the third form, which appears to be her- 
maphrodite. went by what is now the name of the species, Catasetum 
tridentatum. When this plant has plenty of food it produces a spike 
of female or hermaphrodite flowers, which are thick and fleshy, resem- 
bling in shape an old-fashioned woman’s cap or sunbonnet. These 
flowers and their attendant capsules require a special effort, and can 
only be satisfactorily produced when the plant is in good condition. 
During a drought, when the plant is half starved, it would be unable 
to support such a strain, therefore a few lighter and more elegant male 
flowers are produced, and as there will always be some stronger plants 
to produce those of the opposite sex the work of the weaker is not lost. 
If one passes under one of these plants when in flower, a swarm of 
yellow and black bumblebees (Hulema dimidiata) are seen hovering in 
its neighborhood and flying from flower to flower. Except in this 
locality not a single bee is to be seen, and perhaps a collector might 
search for miles without finding a specimen. But when the Catasetum 
opens, whether it is hidden in the fork of a tree, perched far up among 
the foliage of the eta, or on sand thrown up from a charcoal pit, the in- 
sect is sure to find it out. The flowers are not generally brilliant or 
showy, neither have they, like the Stanhopeas, any strong perfumes, 
but nevertheless the bees discover them at once. Even in George- 
town, where many orchids do not find their fertilizing agents, and con- 
sequently remain barren, no sooner does the spike of flowers open than 
the bees swarm round it. However it may be obstructed by foliage or 
hidden in some out-of-the-way corner, the buzzing is heard in the early 
morning, telling anyone who has his eyes open that a Catasetum is 
flowering. Having succeeded in attracting the bee from a distance in 
some unaccountable way, a feast is provided in the shape of a little 
reservoir of nectar, to procure a sip of which the bee has to bring its 
head in contact with a pair of incurved antenne, one of which is very 
sensitive. Immediately on touching this the cover of the little case 
containing the pollen masses flies off, and, like a skip jack, these spring 
out, when, by means of a sticky disk with which they are provided, 
they adhere to the back of the insect and are carried to another flower. 
Here the pollen masses come in contact with the stigma and the flower 
is fertilized. 
