"Blossom Hosts and Insect Guests 



the base. The foot is thus conducted directly be- 

 tween the two viscid disks, which immediately cling 

 closer than a brother, and as the foot is finally with- 

 drawn, it brings with it the pollen which it has 

 pulled from its cell. The bee now released seeks 

 a fresh flower, and the same result follows, the leg 

 almost inevitably entering the fissure, and this time 

 drawing in the pollen directly against the sticky 

 stigmatic surface within. When the five honey- 

 horns have been drained, and as our bee seeks to 

 leave the flower, he is plainly detained by this too 

 hearty ''shake" or "grip" of his host, and quite 

 often must exert a slight struggle to free himself. 

 As the foot is thus forcibly torn away, the pollen 

 mass is commonly scraped entirely off and retained 

 within the fissure, or perhaps parts at the stalk, 

 leaving the terminal disk clinging on the insect's 

 leg. O^ccasionally, when more than one leg is en- 

 tangled, the dangling blossom is tossed and swayed 

 for several seconds by the vigorous pulling and 

 buzzing, and a number of these temporary captives 

 upon a single milkweed plant are always to be 

 seen. 



Not unfrequently the mechanism so w^ell adapted 

 exceeds its functions and proves a veritable trap, as 



indicated in my specimens. I have found three 



104 



