110 BEES AND WASPS [CH. 



its apex pointing towards the thorax, or on the other 

 hand it can be swung forwards so that its point 

 projects some distance beyond them. Now since the 

 tongue and such mouth parts as are directly con- 

 nected to it are attached to the point where the two 

 lora unite, it follows that by this swing of the V they 

 can be thrust forward a distance equal to twice the 

 perpendicular length of the lora. 



Turning now to the organs articulating with the 

 apex of the V : next to the united ends of the lora 

 is a short piece, the submentum, and then a long half 

 tube, the mentum (mentum = chin), which contains in 

 the trough running down its upper face the soft basal 

 portions of the actual tongue. From the tip of the 

 mentum there project (i) in the middle line the tongue 

 itself, technically known as the ligula; (ii) to right 

 and left jointed structures, termed labial palps: as 

 already stated in an earlier portion of this book, the 

 basal joints of these palps are folded as protecting 

 sheaths round the lower portion of the tongue. The 

 tongue is grooved posteriorly, and its upper surface 

 bears numerous transverse ridges beset with bristly 

 hairs : in the higher bees it has a ladle-like organ, the 

 bouton at its tip. At the base of the tongue, and 

 visible only from in front is a pair of little sheaths, 

 concealed by the mentum from behind, and known 

 as the paraglossae. It may here be remarked paren- 

 thetically that the whole of this structure attached 



