ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 



13 



ANAT(.i]\iy OF THE I'.EE. 



er tracliea, and tliese in 

 turn ramify all through 

 the entire liody. Instead 

 of fresh air being re- 

 ceived in at the mouth, 

 as with us,fresh supplies 

 are admitted through 

 little moutl:s called 14 

 ''spiracles.'' Ten of 

 these are located in the 

 abdomen— five on eacli 

 side— and are situated 

 just about on the mar- 

 gin of the scales, be- 

 tween the dorsal and 

 ventral segments. Four 

 others are situated on 

 the thorax, or waist, 

 two on each side. Yo\i 

 may, thereftire, decapi- 

 tate a bee and it will 

 continue Ireathing as 

 before. If you place a 

 pencil dipped in ammo- 

 nia near its body, the 

 headless insect will 

 struggle to get away; 

 and if the pencil touches 

 its feet, the ganglia al- 

 ready spoken of com- 

 municate the sensation 

 to the othergangl a,and 

 at once all the feet come 

 to the rescue to push off 

 tlie offending object, or, 

 it may be, to take closer liold so the sting 

 may do its work: for, if bees are daubed with 

 honey they will die very soon from stiangu- 

 hition, because these little mouths or spira- 

 cles are closed. A bee may swim around in 

 a trough of water, and, though its head be 

 entirely out. it will drown just the same, bc- 



THE GENERAL SCHEME OF THE STOMACH-MOUTH OF THE HONEY- 

 BEE IN DJFFEKENT SUV ATAONt^.—BruennMi. 



a, a field or swarm bee fasting, 

 h. the same eating' honey. 



c, a brood-bee eating' pollen. 



d, a lirood-bie tetdiug' 1he brood. 



e, Valvuhir cIkpc from the chj'le-stomach against tbe honey-sac, -wlien tl e 

 fli-st is coniracling' itself foi- removing its contents into the small intestine. 



cause these spiracles or breathing-mouths 

 are submerged under water. On a hot day, 

 if the entrance of a hive 1 e closed the bees 

 will soon begin to sweat: and, thus becom- 

 ing daubed, the delicate spiracles are closed, 

 causing suffocation aid diath. Such bets 

 look ns if they had been boiled. 



l''[0. 1.— Delicate ends of tbe finely divided tracheas nu. ;i.-ijargfr iraru 

 carrying air into all parts of bee's body.-- Bn(en?itc/i. which prevent tubes 



FiO. 3.- Larger traclieas showing cliitinous spires 

 which prevent tubes from collapsing.— BrMen>iic7i. 



