Chap. VIL catasetum tkidentatum. 205 



have resembled the males of G. saccatum and eallosum, 

 for as we hare just seen, it is to these two plants that 

 Myanthus presents so many striking resemblances.* 



Lastly I may be permitted to add that Dr. Criiger, 

 after having carefully observed these three forms in 

 Trinidad, fully admits the truth of my conclusion that 

 Catasetum triderdatum is the male and Monaehanthua 

 viridis the female of the same species. He further 

 confirms my prediction that insects are attracted to 

 the flowers for the sake of gnawing the labellum, and 

 that they carry the pollen-masses from the male to the 

 female plant. He says "the male flower emits a 

 peculiar smell about twenty-four hours after opening, 

 and the antennae assume their greatest irritability at 

 the same time. A large humble-bee, noisy and quarrel- 

 some, is now attracted to the flowers by the smell, 

 and a great number of them may be seen every morning 

 for a few hours disputing with each other for a place in 

 the interior of the labellum, for the purpose of gnawing 

 off the cellular tissue on the side opposite to the column, 

 so that they turn their backs to the latter. As soon as 

 they touch the upper antenna of the male flower, the 

 pollen-mass, with its disc and gland, is fixed on their 

 back, and they are often seen flying about with this 

 peculiar-looking ornament on them. I have never 

 seen it attached except to the very middle of the 



' The male of the Indian ante- to reyersion to a former slate of 



lope (X. bezoartica) after castration the species ; for we have good 



pi'uduces horns of a widely dif- reason to believe that any cause 



ferent shape &om those of the wiiich disturbs the constitution 



perfect male ; and larger and leads to reversion. Myanthus, 



thicker than those occasionally though having the organs of both 



produced by the female. We see sexes apparently perfect, is sterile; 



something of tlie same kind in the it has tlierefore had its sexual 



horns of the common ox. I have constitution disturbed, and tbia 



remarked in my ' Descent of Man ' seems to have caused it to revert 



(2nd edit. p. 506), that such in character to a former state. 

 cases may probably be attributed 



