THK IILSrORV OF A IIUMBLE-BKE. 177 



and honey. Moreover, it is of a texture so close that 

 the honey cannot soak through the dehcate waUs of 

 the cells, which are perfect, natural honey-pots. 



" Tell me something," said the Mistress, " of the way 

 in which l^ees gather honey. I have often seen them 

 humming around and diving into flowers, but they 

 move so rai)idly that I could never fairly observe their 

 behavior." 



" It is done in this way : the bee has at the end of its 

 face a long, hair-clad pro- 

 boscis or tongue which it 

 inserts into the recesses of 

 flowers, brushes out the 

 nectar, passes the laden 

 tongue through its jaws, 

 (Fig. 59) scrapes off" the 

 sweet liquid and swallows 

 it. Just within the ab- 

 domen the a3sophagus ex- 

 pands into a little sac called 

 the crop or 'honey bag,' 

 and into this the nectar is 

 passed. If the bee wants 

 to eat, it opens a minute 

 valve which divides the 

 crop from the stomach, 

 which is just beyond it, and lets out enough to satisfy 

 its hunger. As long as the valve is closed the nectar ac- 

 cumulates, and when the crop is filled the bee flies home 

 and regurgitates the collected sweets into one of the 



fig. 59. — face of humble- 

 bee, showing tongue, 

 (from nature.) 



