Flowers 
The changes which Dr. Klebs* was able to bring 
about in flowers, simply by altering their conditions 
of life, are even more remarkable than any of these 
instances. 
Those who have themselves studied the intimate con- 
nections which exist between flowers, insects, and the 
outside world, must surely be convinced that every 
detail in the structure of a flower is of real importance. 
Useless characters are exceedingly rare, or more pro- 
bably do not occur. 
An excellent example may be quoted here to show 
how difficult it is to find a useless character. There is 
a very queer resemblance in the flowers of bee orchis, 
spider orchis, and fly orchid to their insect namesakes. 
Surely this must be of no use whatever to the flowers 
concerned. 
Two of these, Ophrys apifera and O. araneifera, are 
visited by a certain small fly (Sarcophaga cernaria). 
Bumble-bees are not wanted by these flowers, being 
too large and vigorous for such delicate blossoms. 
Some of the bee orchid were cut off and placed on pxony, 
comfrey, and bryony flowers. The bumble-bees avoided 
those flowers, apparently supposing that another bee 
was visiting them. 
They also avoided flowers upon which the spider 
orchis had been put, for this made them look like little 
grey flowers on which a large spider or butterfly-like 
creature had seated itself.” 
So the mimicry of these orchids may really be of 
some use! 
At the same time, it is always possible to be a little 
too clever, or rather to specialise too much, for the same 
author found that in 1903 only 29 out of 1388 flowers 
of O. muscifera had set seed (2.1 per cent.), and in 
1904 only 79 out of 1048 flowers (7.5 per cent.). 
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