70 WONDERS OF PLANT LIFE 



feast of honey which they had expected to find 

 does not exist at all. Yet the clever plant has 

 achieved its object in drawing the attention of a 

 visitor who will be likely to aid in the dispersal 

 of the pollen. 



It seems almost certain that in not a few cases 

 the pollen itself is offered as an inducement to 

 the insect to visit the flower. There is little 

 doubt that large numbers of small beetles, which 

 in one way may be regarded as robbers, act as 

 the agents for the carrying of the pollen from 

 one bloom to the other. This is easy to under- 

 stand in the case of those plants which produce 

 pollen largely in excess of their actual needs. 

 An observer has been at pains to count the num- 

 ber of grains produced by the flower of the Hibis- 

 cus. It was estimated that sixty grains would be 

 amply sufficient to fertilise all the ovules of the 

 blossoms, whereas in a normal case the stamens 

 were responsible for five thousand. Even this 

 number is small compared with the quantity of 

 pollen grains produced by the Dandelion, estimated 

 at nearly four hundred thousand ; whilst in the 

 case of the Peony the number has been placed 

 at between three and four millions ! 



There is no doubt that insects are often 

 attracted to flowers by their appearance and scent. 



