INSECTS AND FLOWERING PLANTS 57 



live to certain insects. The so-called carrion flowers, pollinated 

 by flies, are good examples, their odor being like that of decayed 

 flesh. Other flowers, which open at night, are white and provided 

 with a powerful scent so as to attract night-flying moths and other 

 insects. All these and many other interesting facts about insects 

 and flowers and their interrelationships will be found in the pages 

 that follow. 



PROBLEM I. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INTERRELATIONS 

 BETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS? 



Field Exercise. To determine whether conditions of mutual aid exist 

 between insects and flowering plants. 



Materials. An insect net, cigar boxes containing sheets of cork, 

 insect pins, and a cyanide bottle are useful. (Caution: Do not smell 

 the cyanide ; the fumes are deadly poison.) 



Object of trip. The object of this trip is threefold : 



1. To find out some of the relations of mutual help existing between 

 plants and animals. 



2. To learn to know a few common insects, and to collect them for 

 later study. 



3. To have such an enjoyable time that you will wish to go again 

 by yourself. 



Method. Your trip should include fields and waste lots covered with 

 weeds and trees. Look for six-legged animals (insects) on plants. 

 Do they receive any protection from such plants? Shelter? Food? 

 Give examples under each of these headings. Do you find any insects 

 laying their eggs upon plants ? Why do you think they do this ? 



Follow a bee until it alights on a flower. Try to find out exactly 

 what it gets from the flower and how it does it. Xow observe where 

 it goes next. Do bees visit flowers of the same kind in succession? 



Look for other flying insects that are on flowers. (Extra credit 

 may be given for the working out of the relation between a butterfly 

 and a flower.) 



Carefully observe the goldenrod blossoms for yellow and black 

 beetles (locust borer) about an inch long. What are they doing? 

 Observe grasshoppers or other insects on stalks of grass. What are 

 they doing there? 



Strip the bark from fallen trees. Look carefully for any sigDs of 

 living things. Collect any living animals you may see. If a small 

 stream or pond is available, scrape or dredge through the aquatic 

 plants near the shore and see what animals you can find. What are 

 they doing there ? 



Dig into rich soil near the roots of grain or other plants and note what 

 living animals may be there. Ask help from your instructor in their 

 identification. 



