Chap. I. OECHIS PYRAMIDALIS. 21 



between the guiding ridges of the labellum, or iasert 

 a fine bristle, and it is conducted safely to the minute 

 orifice of the nectary, and can hardly fail to depress 

 the lip of the rostellum ; this being effected, the 

 bristle comes into contact with the now naked and 

 sticky under surface of the suspended saddle-formed 

 disc. When the bristle is remored, the saddle with 

 the attached pollinia is remoTcd, Almost instantly, 

 as soon as the saddle is exposed to the air, a rapid 

 movement takes place, and the two flaps curl inwards 

 and embrace the bristle. When the pollinia are 

 pulled out by their caudicles, by a pair of pincers, 

 so that the saddle has nothing to clasp, I observed 

 that the flaps curled inwards so as to touch each 

 other in nine seconds (see fig. D), and in nine more 

 'seconds the saddle was converted by the flaps curl- 

 ing still more inwards into an apparently solid ball. 

 The proboscides of the many moths which I have 

 examined, with the pollinia of this Orchis attached 

 to them, were so thin that the tips of the flaps just 

 met on the under side. Hence a naturalist, who 

 sent me a moth with several saddles attached to its 

 proboscis, and who did not know of this movement, 

 very naturally came to the extraordinary conclusion 

 that the moth had cleverly bored through the exact 

 centres of the so-called sticky glands of some 

 Orchid. 



Of course this rapid clasping movement helps to fix 

 the saddle upright on the proboscis, which is very 

 important ; but the viscid matter setting hard rapidly 

 would probably suffice for this end, and the real object 

 gained by the clasping or curling movement is the 

 divergence of the pollinia. The polUnia, being at- 

 tached to the flat top or seat of the saddle, project at 

 first straight up and nearly parallel to each other ; 



