ORCHIDS 139 



he bears away like two horns, erect upon his 

 head. 



But what will happen, supposing that he visits 

 another flower, with his horns in this erect position? 

 They cannot strike the stigma, for it is too low. 

 They must strike other pollen pockets, and the 

 flowers remain unfertilised. But, 

 curiously enough, the pollen masses 

 do not remain erect. As soon as 

 they are out of their pockets and 

 firmly on the bee, they both wilt a 

 trifle, and droop forward, so that 

 they will exactly hit the desired 

 mark the stigma of the next 

 flower. The reader may test this 

 for himself by thrusting the point 



J SHOWY ORCHID 



of a pencil into a flower, withdraw- 

 ing the pollen clubs, and observing how quickly 

 they droop forward, as if taking aim at their 

 target. 



The blossom seems clearly adapted to fit the head 

 of a bee, and the nectary is about the length of a 

 bumblebee's tongue. It is the queen bumblebee 

 (Bombus Americanorum) who pays the most fre- 

 quent calls, though occasional butterflies are not 

 excluded. 



