PART II, | THE MECHANISMS OF FLOWERS. 135 
65. STELLARIA HoLostTEA, L.—The arrangement of the flower 
resembles that of S. graminea; but the flowers are larger and 
more conspicuous, the nectaries are yellow, confined to the outer 
side of the outer stamens, provided above with a honey-secreting 
_ pit,and yielding more abundant honey. The three stages are more 
_ clearly marked off than in S. graminea. In the first stage the outer 
_ stamens, in the second the inner ones, stand close round the centre 
_ of the flower, turning their pollen-covered surfaces more or less 
_ upwards,—the other five being in each case bent out of the way. 
In the first period the stigmas are bent inwards (as in 1, Fig. 42), 
in the second they stand erect but with their papillar sides turned 
_ inwards towards each other, in the third they are spread out (as in 
2, Fig. 42), while the anthers have mostly fallen off or remain as 
withered scales attached to the corolla. 
In flowers which I kept‘in my room however, self-fertilisation 
often took place, for the ends of the stigmas, as they spread out- 
wards, often came in contact with the inner anthers still bear- 
Ing their pollen, and moreover pollen often fell wpon other parts of 
the stigmas. 
Visitors : A. Diptera—(a) Empide : (1) Empis tesselata, F. ; (2) E. opaca, 
F., both frequent, s. ; (b) Syrphide : (3) Rhingia rostrata, L., ab., s. and f.p., 
_ standing on a petal and applying the proboscis now to the base of the flower, 
_ now to the anthers ; (4) Eristalis arbustorum, L., s. and fp. ; (5) Platycheirus 
peltatus,Mgn., do. ; (6) Syrphus ribesii, L., do., ab. ; (ec) Muscidae : (7) Hydro- 
tea dentipes, F., s. B. Hymenoptera—(a) Apidae: (8) Apis mellifica, L.%, 
ab. and persistent, s. (May 27, 1871); (9) Nomada flavoguttata, K. 9 ; 
- (10) N. ruficornis, L.? ; (11) Andrena cineraria, L. 9 ; (12) A. parvula, K. 9, 
the last four s.; (13) Halictus cylindricus, F. 2, fip.; (b) Tenthredinide - 
_ (14) Cephus pallipes, Kl, s. C. Coleoptera—(a) Nitidulide: (15) Meli- 
_ gethes, ab., s.; (b) Cdemeridw: (16) CEdemera virescens, L. (Tekl. B.) 
_ D. Lepidoptera—Rhopalocera: (17) Pieris napi, L., s. E. Thysanoptera— 
_ (18) Thrips, ab. See also No. 590, 1. 
66. STELLARIA MEDIA, Vill.—The flowers are less conspicuous 
than the two preceding species, and, since they appear at all times 
of the year except.in severe frost, they are for a great period 
shut out from insect-visits ; they therefore depend largely on‘ self- 
fertilisation. Accordingly they differ considerably in their arrange- 
ment from the former species. Of the ten stamens, there are 
almost always some, usually five to seven, abortive ; and, on. the 
_ whole, I think that the number of abortive stamens is greater the 
colder the time of year. The five inner stamens are always reduced, 
and often disappear completely ; the five outer ones, which bear the 
i. 
