ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 



10 



ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 



conversion of the nutrient into a liquid fit to 

 mingle with the blood, and tlius nourish the 

 liody of the insect." We all know how the 

 bee gathers up its food through its wonder- 

 ful and delicate little tongue. It then passes 

 into a little tube just below the point a, in 

 the engraving, called the " oesophagus," or 



S - 



know what the bees were working on. Sus- 

 pecting that they were gathering juices from 

 over-ripened raspberries on the vines, we 

 grasped a bee by its waist and abdomen, and 

 pulled until the parts were separated, when 

 there was revealed the little honey-sac, 

 which had di?engaged itself from the abdo- 

 men. This contained a 

 light iiurple or wine-col- 

 ored liquid. Thes-izeof 

 this honey-sac, as nearly 

 as we recollect now% was 

 a good big eighth of an 

 inch; and we should 

 judge that the bee had 

 all it could contain in 

 its little pocket. Che- 

 shire says that, when 

 the honey-sac is full, it 

 is } of an inch in diam- 

 ^ eter. This would agree 



with our observations. 



'-~7i 



^ 



r 



/ 



STOMACH-MOU'J II. 



HONEY-BEE DISSECTED: AFTER WITZGALL. 



"gullet." We find a similar organ in our 

 own bodies, leading from the mouth and 

 communicating directly with the stomach. 

 This oesophagus passes through the waist of 

 the bee, or thorax, as it is called, and to the 

 honey-stomach g in the abdomen. It is in 

 this little sac, although it can hold but a tiny 

 droi> at a time, that millions and millions of 

 l)ounds of nectar are carried annually and 

 stored in our combs. This sac (/ is located 

 in the fore part of the abdomen. 

 Several years ago we had a curiosity to 



The wonderful stom- 

 ach-mouth, /i, solves a 

 very difficult problem. 

 Honey or nectar swal- 

 lowed by the bee goes 

 directly into the honey- 

 sac, wiiere it may re- 

 main for days un- 

 changed, just as if in a 

 ghiss can. When the 

 bee desires, it takes hon- 

 ey or pollen from the 

 honey-sac into the chyle 

 stomach, where it is 

 changed into chyme. 

 This chyme the nuree 

 bees feed to the brood, 

 as also to the queen and 

 the drones. But how 

 can chyme be passed 

 from the chyle-stomach 

 out through the honey- 

 sac without having a lot 

 of raw nectar mixed with it? The stomach- 

 mouth solves the problem by moving up and 

 joining itself to the oesophagus, leaving the 

 honey-sac shut out entirely. This will be 

 better understood by leferring to the draw- 

 ings by Dr. Breunnich. 



TRUE STOMACH. 



This corresponds to the stomach in our 

 own bodies, and performs the same function 

 in the way of digestion in converting the 

 nutrient particles of the food into blood. 

 The inside walls of the stomach have cer- 



