124 UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



while on nearer approach a set of lines on 

 the lower petals tells him just where his 

 tongue will find the easiest entrance to the 

 sweet store. The way down to this treas- 

 ure is guarded by a fence of bristling hairs 

 that discourages any ants that might creep 

 up the stem. A pair of triggers, which are 

 just on the road down to the spur, are so set 

 that when the bee sticks his tongue into the 

 flower the pollen drops fairly into his face 

 and in turn is carried by him to the next 

 violet. Here it sets the seed. It is inter- 

 esting to see Bumble's method of handling 

 this flower as he visits one of these plants. 

 He is quite at home there, and, strange to 

 say, instead of coming at it from the front, 

 he alights on the top, bends over the edge, 

 and turns his head quite upside down to get 

 his tongue into the opening. So when the 

 pollen falls it strikes him just under the chin, 

 if chin a mouth like his can be said to have. 

 Meanwhile he is so heavy that the flower 

 bends over with his weight, often letting 

 him rest fairly on the ground. This, how- 

 ever, disconcerts neither him nor the violet. 



