374 



THE STUDY OF INSECTS 



/hi terror ? 



Fig. 622. — Hind leg of female 

 of Colletes with brushes on all seg- 

 ments. (From Brane.) 



P/anfa 



Fig. 623. — A. Inner surface of the left hind leg of a worker 

 honey-bee; B. Outer surface of the same. (After D.B. Casteel.) 



specialized (Fig. 623). On the outer sur- 

 face of the tibia of the hind legs there is 

 a smooth area which is margined on each 

 side by a fringe of long curved hairs ; this 

 structure is known as the pollen basket 

 or corbicula; and on the inner surface of 

 the metatarsus, termed planta by some 

 writers, there is a brush of stiff hairs by 

 means of which the bee gathers the pollen 

 from its body. In the honey-bee the hairs 

 composing this brush are arranged in 

 transverse rows and are termed the pollen 

 combs. 



The mouth-parts differ greatly in form 

 in the different groups of bees ; this is espe- 

 cially true of the maxillae and labium, 

 which together constitute the proboscis, 

 used for extracting nectar from flowers. 

 The mandibles are fitted for chewing and 

 do not vary so much in form. 



In the most generalized bees, the pro- 

 boscis is comparatively short and the la- 

 bium is either notched at the tip, or is quite 

 deeply bifid (Fig. 624). In all other bees the labium is 

 pointed at the tip. Among the bees with a pointed labium 

 the proboscis varies greatly in length; in some it is 

 comparatively short, while in the more specialized forms 

 (Fig. 625) it is greatly elongate. 



The two sexes of bees differ in the number of abdominal 

 tergites exposed to view; in the male there are seven, in the female, only six 



— Proboscis 

 (After Saun- 



Fig. 625. — La- 

 bium of the honey-bee. 

 (After Saunders.) 



