THE EVENING PRIMROSE 



169 



of its abnormal shape — " the worm i' the bud," as 

 shown in my accompanying sketch — and what 

 an eloquent story of blighted hopes its interior 

 condition reveals ! This tiny whitish caterpillar 

 which we disclose in the petal dungeon has been 

 a prisoner since its birth, during the early growth 

 of the bud. One by one 

 the stamens and also 

 the stiofma have been 



o 



devoured for food, until 

 the mere vestiges of 

 them now remain. With 

 no stamens to bequeath 

 pollen, and no stigma to 

 welcome other pollen, 

 what need to open ? 

 What need to elongate 

 a corolla tube for the 

 tongue of a moth whose 



visit could render no functional service ? So 

 thus our blighted buds refuse to open, where 

 blooming would be but a mockery. This tiny 

 caterpillar has a host of evening primrose blos- 

 soms laid to his door. When full grown he is 

 nearly a third of an inch in length, at which 

 time he concludes to leave his life -long abode, 

 which explains the "hole" through the base of 

 the bud. If we gather a few of these buds 

 and place them in a small box, we may observe 



