2 88 American Quarterly Microscopical Jourjial. 



It might naturally be supposed that the honey-bee would be 

 better known and understood, as regards habits and the structure 

 of its parts, than any other insect, on account of its economic 

 value and the consequent attention it has received from early 

 ages ; and that, at the present time, an organ so important as the 

 tongue, by means of which a valuable commercial product is se- 

 cured, would be thoroughly understood as to its anatomical arrange- 

 ment. Certainly a knowledge of the manner in which bees obtain 

 their food, and the kind of material best adapted to their needs, 

 should no longer admit of conjecture. 



The latest contribution to this subject is from Mr. V. T. Cham- 

 bers, who has published the results of some examinations in the 

 Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, under the 

 title : " On the Tongue (Lingua) of some Hymenoptera." 



My own observations have led me to conclusions somewhat at 

 variance with those reached by Mr. Chambers, and, as I believe 

 my method of cutting and examining the sections is superior to 

 the one employed by the above writer, I have no hesitation in 

 saying that his drawing does not show the true structure of the 

 organ. In the course of my investigations I have been led to 

 think that the relations of the tongue to the other mouth organs, 

 or to the mouth itself, and the oesophagus, would well repay care- 

 ful study. This, however, will afford a subject for further exa- 

 mination at another time. The present paper will be confined 

 strictly to the consideration of the so-called tongue itself. 



By way of introducing the views of former writers, I cannot do 

 better than to quote some passages from Mr. Chambers' valuable 

 contribution, as he has made himself familiar with the literature 

 of the subject. 



He writes as follows : " Dr. Carpenter — than whom no higher 

 authority in Microscopy is recognized, states that the tongue is a 

 muscular organ, though Reaumer has long before stated that it 

 docs not contain a single muscle, being operated by the muscles 

 of the mentum to which it is in part attached, and by its own elas- 

 ticity ; Cuvier also calls it membraneous and not muscular ; Hogg 

 {Microscope), says that it is cylindrical; Kirby and Spence say that 

 it is flat; while Reaumer shows correctly that it is neither exactly, 

 but is something between the two ; Cuvier states that the larvee of 

 bees feed on honey and the fecundated farina of flowers, and 

 that the perfect insect likewise subsists on honey." * * * * 



" Savigny seems to be regarded as the first who denied that the 



