148 INSECT BEHAVIOR 



there was the odor, powerful and appetizing, unmistakably from a 

 delicious nectarine fluid. Baffled and undoubtedly angry at being 

 thus fooled, the insect turned and retreated in panicky haste to the 

 outer air and a world of things more friendly. 



Now, shortly after this incident, there came a honey-bee to the 

 blossom, attracted by that same curious fragrance, or perhaps by 

 the brilliant yellow coloring of the flower's petals. Down the pistil 

 went the bee, as eagerly as the beetle had done but a minute before, 

 until it reached the bottom of the flower. Then it quivered its wings 

 and body nervously, as though something were absent that should 

 have been there, but soon it settled down', contented and motion- 

 less, drinking in the delicious saccharine, from the flower's hidden 

 storehouse. What a contrast to the excited clumsy beetle, who, just 

 as Nature intended, would never taste those sweets or know the 

 secret of their seclusion! 



But why this apparent favoritism of Nature for the bee? Why 

 should not the beetle also sip the honey? It is not favoritism. Such 

 a thing does not exist in Nature. It is simply her method of pro- 

 tecting the flower from undesirable visitors and the beetle is one of 

 these, as we shall presently see. But let us first study the flower for 

 a minute, before going any further, that we may understand more 

 clearly. 



Plants are helpless inhabitants of our world, destined to spring 

 from a seed and to spend their life just where that seed chanced to 

 be dropped. But like most other living things, they must be fertilized 

 before they may produce new seed that will grow and perpetuate 

 their race. Their pollens must cross or intermingle, for that is the 

 way plants are fertilized, yet they cannot move about, cannot come in 

 contact, except by chance, so Nature is called upon to supply the 

 means. 



She has supplied two ways for the plant world. One the wind, 



