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136
My Studio Neighbors
·
W. Hamilton Gibson
108
Many
other
species
allied
to
the
above
possess
similar
devices,
with
slight
variations;
and
there
is
still
another
group
whose
structure
is
distinctly
adjusted
to
the
tongues
of
insects--adaptations
not
merely
of
position
of
pollen
masses,
but
even
to
the
extent
of
a
special
modification
in
the
entrance
to
the
flower
and
the
shape
of
the
sticky
gland,
by
which
it
may
more
securely
adhere
to
that
sipping
member.
In
the
common
pretty
Purple-fringed
Orchid,
whose
dense
cylindrical
spikes
of
plumy
blossoms
occasionally
empurple
whole
marshes,
we
have
an
arrangement
quite
similar
to
the
H.
orbicularis
just
described,
with
the
exception
that
the
pollen-pouches
are
almost
parallel,
and
not
noticeably
spread
at
the
base
(Fig.
11).
In
this
case
the
eyes
of
sipping
butterflies
occasionally
get
their
decoration
of
a
tiny
golden
club,
but
more
frequently
their
tongues.
If,
however,
the
butterfly
should
approach
directly
in
front
of
the
flower,
as
in
a
larger
blossom
he
would
be
most
apt
to
do,
he
might
sip
the
nectar
indefinitely
and
withdraw
his
tongue
without
bringing
it
in
contact
with
the
viscid
pollen
discs.
But
in
the
dense
crowding
of
the
flowers,
over
which
the
insect
flutters
indiscriminately,
the
approach
is
oftenest
made
obliquely,
and
thus
the
tongue
brushes
the
disc
on
the
side
approached,
and
the
pollen
mass
is
withdrawn.
But
an
examination
of
this
orchid
affords
no
pronounced
evidence
of
any
specific
intention.
There
is
no
unmistakable
sign
to
demonstrate
which
approach
is
preferred
or
designed
by
the
flower,
and
this
dependence
on
the
insect's
tongue
or
eye
would
seem
to
be
left
to
chance.
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