258 Mr. T. H. Farrer on the manner of 



there sometimes remained and sometimes went away disap- 

 pointed. When they remained, they inserted their proboscides 

 into a hole bored through the calyx, the petals, and the sta- 

 minal tube. I never saw them bore these holes, though every 

 flower where they remained had them. One humble-bee, 

 however, (black, with two yellow bars on his back, and a light- 

 coloured tail) certainly did bore or, rather, nip these holes ; 

 and this bee invariably adopted the same plan, and never 

 looked at the mouth of the flower. But by far the greater 

 number of the larger bees alighted on the wings, or, rather, 

 generally on the left wing of the flower, and inserted their 

 proboscides down the apparent natural channel towards the base 

 of the flower. So far as I saw, the same bees always adopted 

 the same course. In alighting on the wing of the flower, they 

 weighed it down, and in so doing pressed outwards the stiff 

 elastic lower part or claw. On doing the same thing with 

 one's finger, it became obvious that the bee thus opened for its 

 proboscis a clear path to the hollow between the claw and the 

 staminal tube, and also to the base of the separate stamens, 

 between which and the other stamens would be his access to 

 the hollow surrounding the ovary. The tendency of pulling 

 back the keel is to widen the openings between the separate 

 stamen and the others ; and there is a curious appendage out- 

 side the base of the separate stamen, which lies exactly in the 

 path of the bee's proboscis, and which, when pressed, pulls 

 the separate stamen back towards the vexillum, and leaves free 

 access to the ovary. From the vigorous sidling struggles the 

 bees constantly made, it looks as if they were trying in this 

 way to get to the inside of the staminal tube, which I see is 

 always penetrated by the bees which bore holes. 



But, however this may be, it clearly appears that the same 

 bending down of the wings of the flower which opens for the 

 bees a way to its base, produces another and a very curious 

 efifect on the style. The lower part of the wings of the flower 

 being attached to the lower and outer part of the keel, when 

 the former is bent outwards, it pulls the base of the keel out- 

 wards too. The effect of this is to pull the upper spiral coil or 

 tube of the keel backwards also, and at the same time to con- 

 tract it. The style, which before had been exactly adjusted to 

 the length of the keel, now becomes too long for it, and, in 

 consequence of the stiffness of the lower part and the wiriness 

 of the upper part of the style, the tube of the keel is pulled 

 backwards on the style, or, which is the same thing, the coil 

 of the style is pushed forwards through the tube, so as to 

 thrust the upper end of the style quite out of the tube, and 

 expose the whole of the stigma and the bristles below it. In 



