96 THE FERTILISATION OF FLOWERS. [PART III. 
hairs on the lower surface of the bee’s body. When the bee flies 
away the hood returns to its former position and again incloses the 
stamens and pistil. At each visit this action is performed twice, 
once on the right and once on the left, since there are two honey- 
sacs and two canals leading to them.. Thus in young flowers the 
pollen adhering to the stigma is brushed off on to the hairy body 
of the bee, and in older flowers, which have been already robbed 
of their own pollen, pollen from other flowers is brought and 
applied to the stigma. Hildebrand saw humble-bees acting in the 
manner described. Since the proboscides of our humble-bees vary 
from 7 to 21 mm., and the canals leading to the honey in Dielytra 
are 18 to 20 mm. long, the action of the different visitors deserves 
closer examination. 3 
I have only seen Bombus hortorum, L. 2 (20 to 21),and Anthophora 
pilipes, F. 9 (19 to 20), both in fair abundance, sucking this flower in 
the normal way: they sucked each flower twice, once on each side. 
Bombus terrestris, L. 2, whose proboscis is only 7 to 9 mm. long, 
climbs on to the upper part of the flower and bites a hole into 
one of the honey-sacs; it tries to introduce its proboscis through 
— - © 
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the hole it has made, and if it does not at once succeed, it bites — 
several times, and at-last succeeds in stealing the honey out of 
both the pouches! I have seen Bombus pratorum, I. ? (11 to 12), 
and B. Rajellus, Ill. (12 to 13), act in the same way. Osmia rufa, 
L. 2 (9), Megachile centuncularis, L. 6 (6 to 7), and Apis mellifica, 
L. & (6), often make use of the holes which humble-bees have 
bitten, and which few flowers are free from. 
The action of the hive-bee’on flowers of Diclytra convinced 
me of the advantage that flowers derive from having convenient 
landing-places for insects. If the bee tried to steal honey by means 
of holes made by Bombus terrestris, it found no such resting-place, 
but catching hold of the edge with some of its legs, it groped about 
with the others on the smooth surface, and so stood insecure and 
wasted much time. 
Diclytra eximia, D.C.—The flower has been thoroughly described 
and figured by Hildebrand (358). It resembles D. spectabilis, but 
the space for the lateral bending of the hood is smaller and the 
passage to the honey shorter. 
In Dielytra cucullaria, D.C., the outer petals are provided with 
long spurs and the honey is secreted by two long processes of the 
middle stamens lodged in these spurs (358). 
1 In North America, Diclytra Canadensis is bitten in the same way by the 
short-lipped bee Bombus Virginieus, Oliv. (736). 
