L TI()N PO PI 



225 



Insect Pollenizers. '1 i ' majority of rntomophilou 



are pollcni/.ed by bees of variou- kinds; tin- apple, pear, b; 

 raspberry and many oilier f( depend ( liiclly upon the 



honey bee, while (lover (aim ed without t lie aid of bumbl 



or honey bet <! by wild bees SUCt vfldw. 



Lilies and orchids frequently employ butterllie- and moth-, U well a> 

 and the milkweed i> adapted in a remarkable manner t'or pollii. 



by butterflies, moths and som< n'bed. Honeysuckle, 



lilac, azalea, tobacco, Petunia, Datura and many other Mron^ly & 

 and conspicuous nocturnal flowers attract for their own use- the lontr 

 touted sphinx moths (Fig. 263); the evening primrose, like milk 

 is a favorite of noctuid moths. 

 Umbelliferous plants are pollen 

 ized chiefly by various flies, but 

 also by bees and wasps. Pond 

 lilies, golden rod and some other 

 flowers are pollenized largely by 

 beetles, though the flowers exhibit 

 no special modifications in relation 

 to these particular insects. It is 

 noteworthy that pollination is per- 

 formed only by the more highly 

 organized insects, the bees head- 

 ing the list. 



Of all the insects that haunt the 

 same flower, it frequently happens 

 that only a few are of any use to the 

 flower itself; many come for pollen 



only; many secure the nectar illegitimately; thus bumblebees puncture 

 the nectaries of columbine, snapdragon and trumpet creeper from the 

 outside, and wasps of the genus Odynerus cut through the corolla of 

 Pcntcstcmon l&vigatus, making a hole opposite each nectary; then there 

 are the many insects that devour the floral organs, and the insects which 

 are predaceous or parasitic upon the others. In the Iris, according to 

 Needham, two small bees (Clisodon terminates and Osmia distincta) are 

 the most important pollenizers, and next to them a few syrphid flies, 

 while bumblebees also are of some importance. The beetle Triclrius 

 piger and several small flies obtain pollen without assisting the plant, 

 and Pamphila, Eiidamus, Chrysophanus and some other butterflies 

 succeed after many trials in stealing the nectar from the outside (Fig. 



15 



FIG. 263. Protoparce sexta visiting flower 

 of Petunia. Reduced. 



