Vol. XIV. No. 12 -Botanical Gazette -Dec, i 9 



Flowers and Insects. Ill 



CHARLES ROBERTSON. 



Nelu?nbo x lutea Planch. — The flowers are female in the 

 first stage. On the first day the petals separate at tips, so 

 that insects can enter and crawl about upon the carpophore 

 and over the stigmas. At this time the anthers are indehis- 

 cent and are pressed close against the sides of the carpophore, 

 being held in this position by the erect petals. The claw- 

 like tips of the anthers, the only parts of the stamens now 

 visible, form a close circle between the petals and the edge 

 of the carpophore, thus opposing insects which might attempt 

 to reach the pollen. 



On the second day, when the petals begin to separate, 

 insects can only reach the anthers, which are now discharg- 

 ing pollen, by crawling over the stigmas. Later, when the 



& v T w " *""* "-fc» 



petals become widely expanded and the anthers fall upon 

 them, insects no longer light upon the carpophore. 



Delpino regards flowers of this genus as specially adapted 

 to beetles which he supposes visit the flowers to gnaw the 

 carpophore. I have never seen them eating this part, nor 



are they sufficiently abundant on the flowers to be of much 

 Use, Moreover, they remain almost stationary and seldom 

 9y from flower to flower. Delpino has classed the flowers 01 



Nvmphaeaceae in general as cautharofhilous, it seems to me 

 without enough evidence. I have found Nymphaea 1 and 



Nelumbo visited onlv for pollen and Xuphar 2 both for pollen 

 and nectar. The principal visitors are Andrenida*, especially 

 species of 1 lalictus, and Syrphidie. 



Visitors (observed on 3 days between July 26 and 



August i-2): Hymenoptera— Afidm : (1) Afismellijica L. $ , 



c - P , ah. ; (2) Ceraiina dufla Say 9 ■ Andrenida: (3) A a- 

 fostemon radiatus Say 9 , ab. ; (4) Atigochlora fura Say ? , 

 il b. : (5,6) Halictus spp. 9 , ab. ; (7) H. ligatus Say 9 ; (8) 

 #"• Lerouxii St. Farg. 9 ( = farattelm Sm.) ; (9) H. far- 

 nllclus Say ? , ab. (= occidental Cr.) ; (10) //. filosus Sm. 9 , 



(11) H. con/usus Sm. 9 , ab., all c. p. ; (12) Prosopis 



1 On the fertilization of Nelumbo see Delpino: Ulterior! osservazioni sulladi gamia 

 ■* regno vegetale ; and Comes: Studiisulla inipollinagione in alcune piante. 



I BW. Qazei XIV,! 1-125. 



