54 UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



all the allurements of a penetrating scent 

 and of lustrous whiteness are necessary 

 to guide the fly to the flower that nestles 

 in the dark. 



WHY FLOWERS HATE ANTS 



This nectar, lying so close to the ground, 

 is a great temptation to ants, and the flowers 

 hate ants. They are only willing to give 

 honey to insects that can carry pollen 

 from blossom to blossom and thus set the 

 seed. But ants are so smooth that pollen 

 falls off them as from a coat of mail. The 

 arbutus has provided itself with a defence 

 against them. It stuffs the throat of the 

 flower with a bunch of hair. For some rea- 

 son a hairy surface is quite distasteful to 

 ants. I suppose the fine tips get into their 

 spiracles and are like grass blades getting 

 into our nostrils. So the tuft of fine hair 

 in the mouth of the arbutus flower keeps out 

 the ants and reserves the nectar for the 

 longer tongued and more hairy insects 

 who will better answer its purpose. Then, 

 too, this furry covering keeps the pollen 



