112 

 perhaps, the proiijinence of the exposed portions of the 

 genitg,lia. Tbe female, however, abows some remarkable 

 structural peculiarities, which adoiirably adapt her for the 

 functions she has to perform, for sibe must fertilize the plant, 

 for her larvae feed upon the seeds." 



"Her activity begins soon after dark, but consists, at 

 first, in assiduouslv collecting a load of pollen. She may be 

 seen running up to the top of one of the stajnens and bend- 

 ing her head down over the anther, stretching the max;iUary 

 tentacles, so wonderfully modified for the purpose, to tlieir 

 fullest extent, the tongue uncoiled and reaching to the 

 opposite side of the stamen, while tlie head is kept close to 

 the anther and moved peculiarly back and forth something 

 as in the motion of a caterpillar when feeding. The maxil- 

 lary palpi are used in this act very much as the ordinary 

 mandibles are used in other insects, removing or scraping 

 the pollen toward the tentacles. 4fter thns gathering the 

 poUen she raises her head apd commences to shape into a 

 little mass or pellet by nsing her front legs, very much as a 

 cat does when cleansing her mouth, some tim^S uging only 

 one leg, at another time both, smoothing and pressing the 

 gathered pollen, the tentacles meanwhile stretching and 

 curving. After collecting all the pallen from one anther 

 she proceeds to another and repeats the operation, then to a 

 third and fourth, after which, with her relatively large load 

 —often twice as lajfge as the head---held firmly agajngt the 

 neck and front troclianters, she usually runs about or flies to 

 another plant; for I have often noticed that ovipoei^ion, as a 

 rule, is aoeomplifthed in some other fJowei than ^hat from 

 which the pollen was gathered, and that cross fertilization is 

 thus se,cuFed." 



