REPRESENTATIVE INSECTS 359 



The digestive tract is well adapted for the specialized life of the 

 bee, that of gathering and feeding upon the nectar of flowers. A 

 study of the digestive sj'stem of the larva, pupa, and adult of the 

 solitary wasp, Odynerus dorsalis, by Mr. Edwin Vest reveals that it 

 is very similar to that of the honey bee, as well as many other Hymen- 

 optera. In Odynerus or the honey bee the digestive tract may be 

 divided into the fore intestines, mid-intestines, and hind intestines, as 

 in the June bug. The divisions of fore intestines are : the mouth or 

 buccal cavity, esophagus; water sac or Jioney stomach; and the pro- 

 ventriculus. The mid-intestine consists of the stomach, while the hind 

 intestine may be divided into the ileum, rectal glands, rectum, and 

 anus. In the larval and early pupal stages the mid-intestine is a thin 

 flat tube, but in the adult it has developed into a convoluted, looped 

 stomach. The number of Malpighian tubules increases from the 

 larval stage to the adult. Only four Malpighian tubules are found 

 in the lar\^a, while there are around one hundred in the adult. There 

 is also a marked change in the length of the esophagus during meta- 

 morphosis. In the adult the esophagus extends from the buccal cavity 

 through the thorax into the first abdominal segment where it enters 

 the water sac, or in the honey bee, the honey stomach. 



The body of the bee is well filled with tracheae, which are con- 

 nected with two pairs of thoracic spiracles ajid eight pairs on the 

 abdomen. 



The nervous system is similar to that of the grasshopper. The 

 brain is a ganglion in the head above the esophagus. It is con- 

 nected by a nerve rmg with the subesophageal ganglion, which is 

 in the head but below the esophagus. The two ganglia of the head 

 are connected with two in the thorax and four in the abdomen. 



The queen bee when fully developed mates with a drone on the 

 virgin flight. By means of the copulatory organ the male transfers 

 a supply of sperms to the seminal receptacle of the queen. Just 

 how the queen is able to regulate the laying of eggs that are fer- 

 tilized by the sperms from the seminal receptacle or those that are 

 not fertilized is not fully known. The fertilized eggs develop into 

 workers and the unfertilized eggs into drones. 



The life history of the bee, life in the hive, the gathering of 

 nectar and its development into honey for table use, as well as 

 swarming and the rearing of a queen, are fascinating subjects dealt 

 with in the many books devoted exclusively to a study of the 

 honey bee. 



