THE FLOWER AND THE BEE 



being adapted to butterflies, and a part to diurnal hawk-moths. 

 *'As the honey gets more deeply concealed and access more 

 directly limited to butterflies, we find," says Hermann Mueller, 

 "'pari passu among the Carijophyllaceoe (pink family) increasing 

 development of sweet scents, bright-red colors, fine markings 

 round the entrance of the flower, and indentations at the cir- 

 cumference. All these characters, which are so attractive to 

 us, seem to have been produced by the similar tastes of butter- 

 flies." This conclusion is much strengthened by the fact that 

 nocturnal flowers are usually white and without variegation. 



The wild orange-red Hly {Lilium philadelphicum) , which 

 grows in dry, upland pastures, is polhnated by butterflies 

 (Fig. 60), while the wild yellow lily {Lilium canadense), which 

 blooms along the marshy river-banks, is polhnated by bees. 

 The bee-lily is an inverted, bell-shaped flower with broad over- 

 lapping floral leaves, which shed the rain perfectly. Bees 

 ahght on the stigma and crawl up the style to the nectar at 

 the bottom of the flower. (Fig. 61.) 



But the butterfly-lily stands erect, and the floral leaves are 

 contracted at base into narrow claws, leaving wide interspaces 

 through which the rain easily escapes. If the perianth formed 

 a cup, like that of the bee-lily, it would fill with water; and, if 

 it were inverted, it could not be conveniently visited by butter- 

 flies. I never fail to watch with pleasure the manoeuvres of 

 butterflies to obtain the nectar of this wild lily. The narrow 

 claw of each perianth segment has its edges turned inward to 

 form a groove, which guides the proboscis of the butterfly to 

 the nectar-gland at its base. The only visitor I have observed 

 is the common, yeUowish-red butterfly Argijnnis aphrodite. 

 (Fig. 6^2.) Alighting on the broad limb of the flower, it runs 

 its tongue down one of the grooves to the nectar, while at the 

 same time its wings come in contact with the anthers and 



130 



