Ɛpsilon

From J. O. Westwood   1 August 1862

Oxford

1 Augt. 1862

My dear Sir

I lent my bee to Dr. Daubeny for his lecture on your Book,1 & unfortunately the pollinia got shaken off in transitu.2 If you like to see the insect & the detached appendage, I will send you the bottle. I suppose it was Orchis Maculata as it was in flower & I had one or two plants in my garden

Yours very sincerely | Jno O Westwood

1
Westwood, who was professor of zoology at Oxford University, refers to the lecture on Orchids given at the end of June by the professor of botany, Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny (see letter from C. G. B. Daubeny, 5 July 1862).
2
In the letter from J. O. Westwood, 14 May 1862, Westwood offered to send CD a preserved bee specimen with pollen masses attached to its head. Orchis maculata is a synonym of Dactylorhiza maculata, the heath spotted orchid.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3676,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3676