35 



Whatever may be the principal agent of pollination in the 

 palm's native habitat in Queensland and New South Wales, at 

 Almirante the little black, stingless bee, Trigona amalthea (Oli- 

 vier) plays the chief role. Other visitants to the flowers are 

 flies, mosquitoes and small wasps, but the bees far outnumber 

 all of the others together, and by their systematic harvest of 

 both pollen and nectar are apparently the only ones fitted to 

 play an important part in cross-pollination. This bee (and re- 

 lated species) is so important as a pollinating agent of many 

 plants in Central America, and so interesting in its habits, that 

 it deserves a few words devoted to itself. A colony of them in- 

 habited an enormous "nigger-head" termites' nest, the work of 

 a species of Nasutitermes (voluntarily or involuntarily aban- 

 doned by the latter), situated in a large cacao tree not more than 

 fifty yards from the nearest palm. It was one of the largest nests 

 of this type I remember having seen, ellipsoidal in shape, and 

 measured 3.5 feet in height by half as thick. The bees had pro- 

 vided an entrance on one side in the form of a large, funnel- 

 shaped aperture. Although stingless and apparently harmless, 

 even when disturbed, away from their hive, when their home is 

 molested they sally forth in numbers and, attaching themselves 

 to the hair or skin or clothing of the intruder, attempt a bite 

 which is more annoying than painful, at the same time adver- 

 tising their anger by a persistent, high-pitched buzz. Desiring 

 to clear some branches from the vicinity of this nest, for the 

 purpose of a photograph, I was advised to do the work at night, 

 but even then was not immune from an angry sortie by its in- 

 habitants. 



The staminate flowers in mass have a faint but agreeable 

 fragrance which is difficult to describe. Perhaps attracted by 

 this, the bees swarm over them in large numbers, collecting the 

 pollen into great swollen masses on their hind legs. The pollen 

 grains possess a perfectly smooth exine and are dry and dusty 

 rather than cohesive. They do not appear particularly well 

 adapted for either insect or wind pollination. When examined 

 dry, each has the form of a grain of wheat, a resemblance which is 

 further heightened by a deep furrow down the inner face. Placed 

 in water the grain swells out and the furrow is represented by a 

 very faint line. Bees bearing enormous loads of this pollen, 

 which they secure from neighboring trees, in their pollen bas- 



