THE FLOWER AND THE BEE 



longest tongues can obtain all of it. The spur is so tough that 

 it cannot be perforated. Honey-bees gather pollen from the 

 anthers, which open one at a time rising successively before the 

 mouth of the flower. 



The snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) is another bumblebee- 

 flower widely cultivated in gardens. So firmly are the lips 

 closed together that the smaller bees cannot force them apart, 

 and thus the nectar is protected for the rightful guests. But 

 as the flowers grow older the lips part slightly, and then the 

 smaller bees are able to force an entrance. The great size of 

 the corolla permits the largest bumblebees to creep wholly 

 within it. (Fig. 40.) 



A typical wild bumblebee-flower is the turtle-head (Chelone 

 glabra), which grows along the banks of streams and in marshes. 

 The large, white flowers rudely mimic in form the head of a 

 turtle. Although I have had them under observation for many 

 hours and on many different occasions I have never seen them 

 entered by any insects except bumblebees. Wasps and flies 

 sometimes examine the lips, which are tinged with yellow, ap- 

 parently looking for nectar; but they never pass between them 

 into the corolla-chamber. The mouth of the flower is so small 

 that a bumblebee sometimes finds difficulty in entering, but 

 once inside there is an abundance of room for a bee to turn 

 completely around. I once placed several flower-clusters of 

 the turtle-head in a glass of water a few feet in front of a bee- 

 hive; but of the many honey-bees constantly coming and going 

 not one of them entered a flower. But presently, notwith- 

 standing their unusual position, every blossom was examined by 

 bumblebees. The honey-bees seemed instinctively to know 

 that these flowers were not designed for their use. (Fig. 41.) 



The common "touch-me-not," or jewelweed (Impaticns 

 biflora) which covers acres of damp land, is another bumble- 



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