SOME SPRING FLOWERS 



long hairs within ; so that the children call the flowers 

 cat's ears. They serve some honey, and entertain some 

 guests, but they are able to pollinate themselves. There 

 are also the larger, upright, cup-shaped Mariposas that are 

 much more common, and few flowers can rival these stately 

 chalices in beauty of form or color. In the valleys the 

 lilies are usually lilac, cream or pale rose, with crimson 

 spots, or yellow with golden brown or purple markings ; a 

 desert species is flame color with royal purple honey guides; 

 in the mountains there are azure, violet, purple and inter- 

 mediate shades with spots and rings of other tints. And 

 of what use is all this beauty to the plant itself ? Really, 

 the Mariposa does not calculate closely in her hospitality, 

 as we shall see. Honey is served in the tiny bowls at the 

 base of each petal, and the protecting fringes and borders, 

 in elegantly contrasting colors, serve also as honey guides. 

 This honey is accessible to many guests; indeed, there are 

 spiders that find it worth while to assume the exact color 

 of the flowers, and to lie in wait for the Mariposa's insect 

 guests. The Mariposa serves pollen, too, opening anthers 

 so slowly that the supply lasts for several days. She affords 

 shelter also ; there is a fuzzy, homeless bachelor bee that 

 chooses to spend his nights in this stately palace ; you may 

 find him early in the afternoon, already snuggled down for 

 the night, standing on his head, his antennae tucked neatly 

 back. Now it is not until the petals begin to fade that the 

 Mariposa's own stigmas are exposed, and even then an 

 entering guest is not sure to strike them ; so, many of the 

 visits paid to flowers must be of no use to them. I,et us 

 hope that the bachelor bee brings pollen, or that in nestling 

 down he scatters some of the stored pollen on the stigmas. 

 The Mariposa has bulbs as well as seeds, and however 

 greedily we may pluck the flowers, we usually leave the 

 bulbs ; so possibly our Mariposas may be spared to us for 

 many years to come. 



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