On Plants and Insects. 167 



5. An objection to the view that the sleep of 

 flowers is regulated by the visits of insects, might be 

 derived from the cases of those flowers which close 

 early in the day, the well-known Yellow Goats'- 

 beard, or "John Go-to-bed-at-Noon" (fig. 61), for 

 instance; still more such species as the Nipplewort 

 or the smooth Crepis, which open before six and 



Fig. 61. JOHN GO-TO-BED-AT-NOON, or GOATS'-BEARL> 

 ( Tragopogon pratense). 



close again before ten in the morning. Bees, however, 

 are very early risers, while ants come out later, 

 when the dew is off; so that it might be an advan- 

 tage to a flower which was quite unprotected, to 

 open early for the bees, and close again before the 

 ants were out, thus preserving its honey exclusively 

 for bees. 



