APIS MELLIFICA. 185 



7. Trace the oviducts down around the sides of the body 

 and notice that they unite with each other ventral to the nervous 

 system, to form the vagina. This may be traced to its opening 

 between the plates of the ovipositor. Dorsal to the vagina, 

 opening to the exterior very near it, is a small sac, the sperma- 

 theca, which serves to store the spermatozoa received from 

 the male until the eggs are laid. 



The reproductive organs may also be added to your figure show- 

 ing internal anatomy. 



Brooks: Hand-book of Invertebrate Zoology. 



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 



