7 he IVood-Betony, a Trotege of the bumblebee 



In his habitual impetuous fashion, he rifled the 

 sweets from one and another of the blossom-heads, 

 so lost in his absorbing work that I was permitted 

 to steal close upon him and observe his eager 

 method, for method, indeed, there was in every 

 movement. In almost every instance he made his 

 approach to the base of the flower-head, and fol- 

 lowed around the spiral arrangement of the flowers 

 to the summit of the cluster. 



It needed only a single glance to receive an in- 

 stant revelation of the reason which lay beneath 

 this singular and always heretofore mysterious spiral 

 arrangement of the flowers — their spiral arrange- 

 ment not only, but the individual lateral curve of 

 each separate blossom, which in every case brought 

 the opening of its tube facing to the left. A mo- 

 ment's careful attention to my burly little interpreter 

 revealed also the strange utility of the singular fis- 

 sure down the right side of each corolla— a slit in 

 the flower-tube extending from its throat half way 

 to the base of the tube, but only on one side. Why 

 on one side and not on the other ? Why always on 

 this outer curve of the flower? These had been 

 questions which I had frequently asked myself 

 when examining this queer, one-sided formation. 

 But they were now answered to my satisfaction. 



87 



