552, THE FERTILISATION OF FLOWERS. [PART III, 
places and deposited an egg in each hole, it repeatedly collects 
pollen from the anthers with these peculiar organs, places it on 
the stigma, and thrusts it into the cavity, the moisture in which it 
at the same time sucks. The larve now develop in the ovary, and 
along with them the seeds, which serve as their food, develop also, 
and in such numbers that the propagation of the plant remains 
ensured. When full-grown the larva boresa hole through the 
capsule, lowers itself to the ground by a thread, bores some inches 
deep into the ground and spins a cocoon in which it passes autumn, 
winter, and spring ; it passes into the pupa stage about fourteen 
days before the Yuccas begin to flower and emerges at the time 
when they do so (667—671, &c.). 
Paradisia Liliastrum, Bertolon, is adapted for fertilisation by 
nocturnal Lepidoptera. The honey is very abundant, and is 
secreted, as in Convallaria, by the deep longitudinal slits in the 
ovary, between the carpels. The flower is white, and the stigma 
and anthers are placed as in Lilium Martagon, Lonicera Pericely- 
menum, and many other nocturnal flowers (600, fig. 7). 
Eremurus spectabilis—The flowers lose their conspicuousness 
before the stigma and anthers are mature (367). Asin the case of 
Weigelia, Lantana, and many other flowers whose colours change, 
the gain hereby is that the less intelligent and useless guests are 
attracted away to the more conspicuous flowers which contain no 
treasure for them (612). 
391. ANTHERICUM RAMOSUM, L.—The flowers are regular, and 
open widely, exposing their honey so much that the most short- 
lipped insects can see and reach it. The honey is secreted by the 
upper part of the ovary, on which it lies in three drops (Sprengel, 
pl. xxii. fig. 8). 
On the Rehmberg near Mihlberg in July, 1868, I had an 
opportunity of observing this plant in sunny weather under its 
natural surroundings. The flowers were assiduously visited by 
bees, sucking honey and collecting pollen. Each time they alighted 
they first touched the projecting stigma and then the anthers, thus 
causing cross-fertilisation regularly. A handsome black and green 
fly (Merodon eneus, Men.) hovered round the flowers in even greater 
numbers than the honey-bee, sucking the honey and eating pollen ; 
it was in fact the principal fertiliser. Two butterflies, the Swallow- 
tail (Papilio Machaon) and a Fritillary (Melitea Athalia, Esp.), 
sucked the honey. Their long thin tongues did not touch or only 
touched by accident the stigmas and anthers; but as they usually 
