8 I^^TRODUCTION. 



and an anterior portion the ligiila, commonly called, 

 from its elongated form, " a tongue ;" it is no true 

 tongue, however, being merely an elongation of the 

 labium ; a real tongue forming the floor of the mouth, 

 occurring but rarely in insect organization, as in the 

 cricket. 



Let us now examine the mouth of another insect; 

 we will select the common Honey-bee. Here we see 

 certain modifications of the organs ; for while the 

 mouth of the beetle is formed exclusively for biting, 

 that of the bee is formed partly for biting and partly 

 for suction. In this insect the labium and mandibles 

 are nearly the same structurally and functionally as the 

 corresponding parts of the beetle, but the maxillae and 

 labial palpi deviate considerably from the mandibulate 

 type; the former are greatly elongated, and when closed 

 form a sort of sheath, which incloses the tongue or 

 ligula; the labial palpi too are greatly elongated and 

 fold together, forming an inner sheath for the Ugula, 

 which is here a long tapering muscular organ with an 

 immense number of short ring-shaped divisions covered 

 with long hairs. This is the bee's honey-consuming 

 organ, which may be often seen projecting a great 

 distance when the insect is feeding, but which at other 

 times is packed up and hidden beneath the maxillae. 



The bee's proboscis or tongue is solid, not tubular, as 

 is sometimes imagined. " The manner," says Mr. 

 Newport, " in which the honey is obtained when the 

 organ is plunged into it at the bottom of a flower, is by 

 * lapping,' or a constant succession of short and quick 

 extensions and contractions of the organ, which occasion 

 the fluid to accummulate upon it and to ascend along 



