THE FLOWER AND THE BEE 



The pistillate flowers which secrete nectar mature first, and the 

 incurved hairs permit the midges {Ceratopogon) which effect 

 pollination to pass easily down to them, but prevent their re- 



FiG. 79. Mountain Saxifrage. Saxifraga hryoides. (After Mueller) 



The petals are covered with numerous dots or spots, which Mueller believed to be attractive to 

 flies, which visit the flowers in large numbers. A, B, and D represent the flower in the 

 first stage, when the anthers mature, but the stigmas remain unreceptive; C represents the 

 second stage, when the stigmas are mature and the anthers have withered and fallen away 



turn. The lowest ring of hairs withers first, permitting the 

 midges to come up to the staminate flowers, where they be- 

 come covered with pollen, then the upper ring of hairs withers 

 and the midges are free to fly away. As many as a thousand 

 midges may be imprisoned in a single spathe. (Fig. 80.) 



166 



