§viii.] EGGS AND TRANSFORMATIONS. 59 



served by the closing of certain flowers at times when 

 winged insects were not on the move, and the exclusion 

 thereby of such as would not aid in the work of fructifi- 

 cation. " It is not too much to say," as Sir John else- 

 where expresses himself (" British Wild Flowers in 

 Relation to Insects "), " that if on the one hand flowers 

 are in many cases necessary to insects, insects on the 

 other hand are still more necessary to the very existence 

 of flowers; that if insects have been in many cases 

 modified and adapted with a view to obtain honey and 

 pollen from flowers, flowers in their turn owe their scent 

 and colour, their honey, and even their distinctive forms, 

 to the action of insects." 



' ' And plains sad Chloris how these spoilers steal 

 From her ripe crests the vivifying meal, 

 Pare the thin films that shield her anthered reign, 

 And all her nectared cells insatiate drain ? 

 No ! kind intruders ; aU reserved for you 

 She pours through honeyed horn her luscious dew. 

 While, grateful for the rich repast, ye shed 

 Fresh showers prolific round her genial bed." 



Evans. 



§ VIII. EGGS AND TRANSFORMATIONS. 



It is necessary that some explanation should be given, 

 as to the existence of the bee before it emerges from the 

 cell. 



The eggs (Plate II. Fig. 7) of all the three kinds of 

 bees, when first deposited, are of an oval shape, slightly. 



