APIS MELLIFICA. 163 



4. Catch a living bee by the wings and press the end of the 

 abdomen against a piece of soft leather, such as a leather-covered 

 book. Pull the bee away and with a lens watch the movements 

 of the sting, which will remain in the leather. Observe the 

 spasmodic contractions of the poison sac. See how long and how 

 energetically the movements are continued and how deep the 

 sting is worked in. This should remind you that a sting should 

 be removed immediately, and that it should not be pulled out, 

 as grasping the poison sac will aid in injecting the poison, but 

 scraped off with a finger-nail or some other instrument. 



A drawing showing the mechanism of the sting is desirable. 



