2 5 o ROUND THE YEAR 



and scent of some orders of flowers have been distinctly 

 modified in consequence of their visits. As a rule the 

 Flies have a short proboscis and prefer open flowers, 

 but some, like Eristalis, have a long proboscis and can 

 explore tubular flowers, as we have already seen. 

 Their taste in colour leads them to prefer pale, dull, 

 or speckled flowers, and their favourite odours are un- 

 pleasant to man. Bees and Moths come nearer to 

 ourselves in their preferences, both as to colour and 

 scent. 



It is a striking proof of the importance of Insects 

 in nature that they should have been able to call into 

 existence a profusion of beautiful flowers. All the 

 flowers of the garden and conservatory are in a sense 

 the work of Insects. What they found ready to hand 

 was a multitude of green or dull-coloured flowers of 

 small size, without honey or scent ; their visits have 

 done all the rest 



Flowers have done as much for Insects as Insects 

 have done for flowers. Flowers are to innumerable 

 tribes of Insects all that domestic animals and 

 cultivated plants are to mankind. Honey, which may 

 be considered a joint product of the flower and the 

 Insect, owes its great value to three properties. It is 

 fluid, it is highly nutritious, and it can be stored with- 

 out undergoing putrefaction. Its fluidity and concen- 

 tration render it particularly suitable as a food for 

 those winged Insects which lay their eggs singly or a 

 few together on scattered plants of one species, and 

 which must, therefore, spend much time in egg-laying. 

 It is equally advantageous to those which spend much 

 time in building or excavation. Upon the fact that 



