THE PLANT AND ITS ENEMIES 99 



seem to trouble the humble-bees, which appear to 

 be the only legitimate visitors to the flower. In 

 the case of quite a number of plants, even the 

 filaments of the stamens are clothed with hairs 

 that form barriers in the way of tiny insects 

 which would mount to the pollen-laden anthers. 

 This is seen to a certain extent in the case 

 of the Crocus, and to a much greater degree 

 in the flower of the Bog Asphodel, where the 

 stalks of the stamens are quite " furry " in 

 appearance. 



In a certain number of instances the presence 

 of glandular hairs secreting a glutinous substance 

 makes it difficult for creeping insects to get any- 

 where near to the centre of the flower. This is 

 to be observed in the blossoms of the Gooseberry, 

 and of the Linncea. The calyces of the Plumbago 

 and Honeysuckle are so thickly adorned with 

 glandular hairs that small insects not infrequently 

 get stuck fast when trying to approach the flower. 

 This is seen to a much greater extent in the case 

 of the Silene nutans, well named the Catchfly. 

 Here the upper part of the stem, as well as the 

 calyx, is viscid, and large numbers of small insects 

 are to be found dead and dying upon the glutinous 

 surface. Just at the time when the Rhododen- 

 dron flowers are at their best the stem is peculiarly 



