. Handbook of flower pollination : based upon Hermann Mu?ller's work 'The fertilisation of flowers by insects' . Fertilization of plants. FLOWERS WITH EXPOSED NECTAR 109 In accordance with the position of the nectar, flowers of this class are chiefly visited by insects with a short proboscis: short-tongued wasps and flies predominate, but to these must be added beetles with equally short proboscis, and flies (Syrphidae) with proboscis of medium length, and more rarely bees with proboscis of medium length. All other insects are relatively unimportant. Even the honey-bee, so active everywhere el
. Handbook of flower pollination : based upon Hermann Mu?ller's work 'The fertilisation of flowers by insects' . Fertilization of plants. FLOWERS WITH EXPOSED NECTAR 109 In accordance with the position of the nectar, flowers of this class are chiefly visited by insects with a short proboscis: short-tongued wasps and flies predominate, but to these must be added beetles with equally short proboscis, and flies (Syrphidae) with proboscis of medium length, and more rarely bees with proboscis of medium length. All other insects are relatively unimportant. Even the honey-bee, so active everywhere else, is seen here comparatively seldom : apparently the small quantity of pollen and nectar ofi"ers it too little attraction, and even less to its allies with still longer proboscis. Lepidoptera, in which the long proboscis is ill-adapted for sucking up the flat layer of nectar, are extremely rare guests, even in the Alps, where such insects abound. (Cf. Knuth, ' Die Besucher derselben Pflanzenart in verschiedenen Gegenden,' I, p. 13.) 2. Fig. 20. Flowers with exposed nectar, (i) PImpinella rubra iri5//>«. (2) Saxifraga aspera (3) Gentiana lutea L. 7t. Nectary. Hermann Miiller ('Alpenblumen,' pp. 481-4) arrives at similar conclusions with regard to alpine flowers with exposed nectar: those which are pure yellow, yellow with orange spots, greenish-yellow, or white, are principally visited by short-tongued insects (85 % of the visitors), in particular by Muscidae, while bees and Lepidoptera are relatively very infrequent (only 15 %). The same also holds for the reddish Umbelliferae (Meum Mutellina, Pimpinella rubra), while the more intensely red Azalea procumbens, which secretes nectar abundantly, is mainly visited by floral guests with a more specialized sense of colour, Lepidoptera, bees and hover- flies (80 % of the visitors), while Muscidae are less numerous (20 %). In many species of Saxifraga, in Veratrum, and in Lloydia, the insect guests are so pre- domin
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