Flowers and their friends

by Margaret Warner Morley

Instead of writing a note on a sheet of perfumed paper, the honeysuckle simply sends the perfume without the paper, and the moth understands the message and knows the white azalea “requests the pleasure” of his company that evening, and he puts on his best manners, since he cannot change his clothes, and goes.

The white azalea is so very sweet and so pretty, it would not be strange if other uninvited guests than bees were to visit it. No doubt, the ants and bugs and gnats and flies would be glad to, but the azalea has a very inhospitable way of receiving such would-be guests. All over the outside of the lower part of the white tube and running in a line to the very tips of the petals are tiny white hairs with black tips.

These are azalea’s body guard. Each tip exudes a drop of sticky liquid.

Fine, sticky hairs cover the stems and the leaves too; so the unfortunate insect that tries to crawl up to the flower is sure to get wings and legs hopelessly entangled and stuck together.

Only large fellows, like bees, who are strong enough to pull themselves free and clean off their legs, are able to defy this body guard. You will sometimes meet our sweet azalea covered on the outside with little marauders who wanted to steal her honey but could not, because the body guard caught them and stuck them fast.

Not all flowers with tubes have succeeded as well as azalea in keeping their honey for the visitors who can do them the most good. Yet many have tried.

Look at the morning-glory, for instance; it has hairs at the entrance to the nectaries which the ants cannot readily pass, but which the bees can push aside. The openings to the nectary are large enough readily to admit the tongue of a bee, and the distance into the nectar is about the length of a bee’s tongue; but there are no sticky guards to preserve the honey, for the bees and small beetles and other tiny insects often crawl into the tube and eat the honey and even devour the flower itself.

Evening Primrose.

Tropæolum has a fine large tube full of rich honey for bees and humming birds. This tube no doubt corresponds to some tongue or bird-bill in her own South America. But in our country the bees answer very well. The bumblebee is fond of Tropæolum honey and fertilizes the flower, while an occasional ruby throat may be seen taking a sip.