BRITISH HIVE- BEE. 



317 



the maxillary palps are aborted, and the appendage consists of an 

 undivided lamina at each side, borne on a basal piece consisting as 

 usual of stipes and cardo. The second pair of maxillne form as usual the 

 labium or so-called lower lip, and are much modified. The united basal 

 joints form the mentum and sub-mentum. From the nientum at either 

 side springs the long labial palp, which represents the outer fork of the 

 typical appendage. The endopodite at each side is divided into two 

 parts, but the inner two (lacinite) 

 are united, much elongated, and 

 form the tongue or ligula of the 

 bee. The outer halves form the 

 paraglossae, which are closely 

 apposed to the base of the 

 ligula. It is the great elongation 

 of the ligula and labial palps 

 which especially fits the bee for 

 nectar gathering. The three 

 structures can be closely apposed 

 to one another, and then form 

 an air-tight tube, up which, by 

 the action of the stomach, nectar 

 is sucked. In many of our 

 British bees the ligula is much 

 shorter, and more or less trowel - 

 like in shape, and is then used 

 largely, as in wasps, in the 

 operation of plastering the nest. 

 In such cases the bee can only 

 suck those flowers in which the 

 nectar is superficial. The hive- 

 bees and humble-bees, on the 

 other hand, are specially modi- 

 fied to enable them to extract 

 nectar from tubular flowers. 

 When not in use the elongated 

 mouth-parts are folded back 

 upon themselves, not coiled as 

 in butterflies and moths, where 

 there is even greater elongation. 

 In the queen and in the 

 drone the mouth - parts are 

 shorter, and are not used in 



FIG. 156. Head and mouth-parts of 

 bee. After Cheshire. 



a., Antenna ; in. , mandible \g. , labrum or 

 epipharynx ; inx.fi., rudiment of maxil- 

 lary palp ; ni.i'., lamina of maxilla ; lp., 

 labial palp ; /., ligula ; I}., bouton at 

 end. The paraglossae lie concealed 

 between the basal portions of the labial 

 palps and the ligula. 



honey gathering. 



The thoracic appendages consist as usual of three pairs of legs, which 

 have the usual parts. On the first leg, at the junction of the tibia and 

 the first tarsal joint, there is a complicated mechanism which is em- 

 ployed in cleaning the antennae ; this is present in all three forms, and 

 varies with the size of the antennas. In the workers the third leg is 

 remarkably modified for pollen gathering purposes. The first tarsal 

 joint bears regular rows of stiff" straight hairs on which the pollen grains 

 are collected ; they are borne to the hive in the pollen basket, placed 



