114 NEOTTE^. Chap. IV. 



after the other. I believe humble-bees generally act 

 in this manner when visiting a dense spike of flowers, 

 as it is the most convenient method ; on the same 

 principle that a woodpecker always climbs up a tree in 

 search of insects. This seems an insignificant observa- 

 tion ; but see the result. In the early morning, when 

 the bee starts on her rounds, let us suppose that she 

 alighted on the summit of a spike ; she would cer- 

 tainly extract the poUinia from the uppermost and 

 last opened flowers ; but when visiting the next suc- 

 ceeding flower, of which the column in all probability 

 would not as yet have moved from the labellum (for 

 this is slowly and very gradually effected), the pollen- 

 masses would be brushed off her proboscis and wasted. 

 But nature suffers no such waste. The bee goes first 

 to the lowest flower, and, crawling spirally up the 

 spike, effects nothing on the first spike which she 

 visits till she reaches the upper flowers, and then she 

 withdraws the poUinia. She soon flies to another plant, 

 and, alighting on the lowest and oldest flower, into 

 which a wide passage will have been formed from the 

 greater reflexion of the column, the pollinia strike the 

 protuberant stigma. If the stigma of the lowest flower 

 has already been fully fertilised, little or no pollen 

 will be left on its dried surface ; but on the next 

 succeeding flower, of which the stigma is adhesive, 

 large sheets of pollen will be left. Then as soon as 

 the bee arrives near the summit of the spike she will 

 withdraw fresh pollinia, will fly to the lower flowers 

 on another plant, and fertilise them ; and thus, as she 

 goes her rounds and adds to her Store of honey, she 

 continually fertilises fresh flowers and perpetuates the 

 race of our autumnal Spiranthes, which will yield 

 honey to future generations of bees. 



Spiranthes australis. — This species, an inhabitant ■ 



