POLLEN MOISTENING. 



'2a 



to my own interpretation of this process. A few citations will here 

 be given : 



The bee first strokes the head aud the proboscis with the brushes of the 

 forelegs aud moisteus these brushes with a little honey from the proboscis, so 

 that with later strokes all of the pollen from the head is collected n]wn these 

 brushes. Then the middle-leg brushes remove this honey-moistened pollen from 

 <he forelegs aud they also collect pollen from the breast and the sides of the 

 thorax.— [Translation from Alefeld, 18G1.] 



In his account of the basket-loading process x^lefeld assigns to 

 the micldle-leg brushes the function of assembling all of the pollen, 

 even that from the plantar combs, and of placing it on the corbiculse, 

 this latter act being accomplished by combing over the hairy edge of 

 each basket with the middle-leg brush of the same side. 



It api^ears probable that the bee removes the pollen from the head, breast, 

 and abdomen by means of the hairy brushes which are located upon the medial 

 sides of the tarsal segments of all of the legs, being most pronounced upon the 

 hind legs. The pollen is thus brought together and is carried forward to the 

 mouth, where it is moistened with saliva and a little honey. — fTranslatioa from 

 Franz, 1906.] 



Franz then says that this moistened pollen is passed backward and 

 loaded. 



Since the pollen of many plants is sticky and moist it adheres to the surface 

 of the basket. Dry pollen is moistened by saliva, so that it also sticks. — 

 [Translation from Fleischmann and Zander, 1910.] 



Pollen is taken from flowers principally by means of the tongue, but at times, 

 also, by the mandibles, by the forelegs, and middle legs. The brushes of the 

 hind legs also load themselves, collecting from the hairs of the body. The pollen 

 dust thus gathered is always ti'ansmitted to the mouth, whei-e it is mixed with 

 saliva. — [Translation from Hommell, 1906.] 



Sladen considers the question of how- pollen is moistened by the 

 honej^ bee, bumblebee (bumblebee), and some other bees, but does not 

 appear to reach definite conclusions. In one of his papers (1912, c) 

 he states that the pollen of some plants may be found in the mouth 

 cavity and in the region of the mouth, but he reaches the conclusion 

 that this pollen is comparatively " dry," using the word in a " rela- 

 tive sense." He asserts that " nowhere but on the corbicula and 

 hind metatarsal brushes did I find the sticky pollen, except some- 

 times on the tips of the long, branched hairs on the back (upper) 

 edges of the tibiae and femora of the middle legs, and then only 

 in heavily laden bees, where it is reasonable to suppose it had 

 collected accidentally as the result of contact with the hind metatarsal 

 brushes." 



These and other considerations lead Sladen to think that, in the 

 case of the bumblebee at least, the pollen " may be moistened on the 

 hind metatarsus with the tongue." He states that the tongue of 

 the bumblebee is of sufficient length to reach the hind metatarsus 



