Relation of Flowers and Insects 71 



The study collections have never been in better condition. 



Thanks to the skill and faithfulness of our preparator, Mr. 



Wunder, all but the most recent accessions are 



^J, 7 . mounted and labeled. The enormous but im- 



Collections „ . „ . 



portant task of rearranging the collections so 



that we may have an identification series separate from the 

 general series is making progress, especially in beetles under 

 the care of Mr. Mutchler. The collection of wild bees from 

 foreign lands has been increased by the purchase of more 

 than two thousand species, authentically named and includ- 

 ing much type material. Almost without exception, these 

 species are new to our collection, and many of them are not 

 represented elsewhere in the United States. 



Following the discovery of the apparent advantage to 

 many plants in having insects transfer pollen from one flower 



to another, it seemed clear that flowers had be- 

 Flowersand . . j j • « 



j come conspicuous in color and odor in order to 



serve as signals, or even as actual attractions, to 

 pollenating insects. Many papers have been written on the 

 subject but, unfortunately, accurate physical and chemical 

 data are lacking. The National Research Council has ap- 

 pointed a committee, of which Curator Lutz is chairman, to 

 investigate some of the problems anew for the purpose of 

 securing such data. In addition to other plans, it is pro- 

 posed to do field work during 1922, with Boulder, Colorado, 

 as headquarters. This investigation is all the more interest- 

 ing because certain recent work has indicated that insects are 

 color-blind. If they are, the function of colors in flowers is 

 not evident. ' 7 f ^ — ^ 



