170 ARTHROPODA. 



APIS MELLIFICA. (Honey-Bee.) 



The life of this form is so different from that of the grasshopper 

 that, should time permit, a study of its complete anatomy would 

 be profitable, but attention will here be confined to a few of the 

 more general adaptations that fit it for its life. 



Bees at work on flowers should be examined and the methods 

 of getting honey and pollen noticed. 



1. Catch by the wings a bee that has been gorging itself 

 and bend the abdomen forward with your thumb-nail until the 

 bee disgorges. Notice where the fluid comes from and how 

 much there is of it. When the abdomen is released watch the 

 bee as it swallows the drop it has disgorged. 



2. Notice where the pollen is carried, and see if you can de- 

 termine how it is attached. Examine bees working on different 

 flowers, or watch them as they enter their hives, and see if the 

 pollen is always of the same color. Do you understand what 

 the pollen is and what the bees use it for? 



3- You may find bees gathering pitch from buds, knots, 

 boards, or freshly varnished furniture, and fastening it on their 

 legs. Do you know what this is used for? 



4. Watch the entrance of a bee-hive and see if those going 

 in are ever challenged. Perhaps you may see the method of 

 defense. If so, you will notice that the stranger simply tries 

 to get away. You may also see how dead bees and foreign ma- 

 terials are removed. 



5. It is desirable to see something of the activities in the hive. 

 This can be most satisfactorily done with an observatory hive, 

 by means of which comb-building, honey-storing, egg-laying, 

 brood-rearing, etc., can be very satisfactorily studied. 



Directions for the study of the mouth parts and the sting are 

 all that seem necessary, but the wings should be examined 

 microscopically to see how those of a side are joined together, 

 and a hind-leg should be examined to see how the hairs on the 

 tibia form a pollen basket. 



Mouth Parts. 1. With a lens notice that there is a pair of 



