PSYCHKl. 



ON THE OCCURRENCE OF ORGANS PROBABLY OF TASTE IN 



THE EPIPHARYNX OF THE MECAP TERA (PANORPA 



AND BOREUS). 



BY ALPHEUS SPKING PACKARE, PROVIDENCE, R. I. 



From the observations of JVIeinert, 

 Forel, Kraepelin and Will anatomical 

 and experimental proofs have been af- 

 forded of the existence of organs of 

 taste on the parts of the maxillae near 

 the mouth, and also on the lingua or 

 "tongue" of ants, wasps and bees ; while 

 Lubbock, in his recent excellent work 

 "On the senses," etc. of animals, claims 

 that the organs discovered by VVolfl" in 

 the mouth-parts of the low^er hymen- 

 optera, e.g., tenthredinidae^ evanii- 

 dae, chalcididae and proctotrjipidac 

 are also those of taste. 



I have observed organs such as VVilP 

 describes and figures (his figs, i , 8, 8a, 

 9, II, 16, etc.), which he calls "ge- 

 schmacksbecher" and Lubbock translates 

 as " taste-cups," in the mounted prepara- 

 tions of the mouth-parts of the honey 

 bee and a species of Bombus^ kindly 

 loaned me by Mr. N. N. Mason, of 

 Providence. In the honey bee they are 

 most abundant in the paraglossae situ- 

 ated at the base of the tongue and at 



1 Das geschmacksorg^an der insecten. (Zeitschrift fiir 



wissensch . zool., 1SS5 ^- 4^) P- 674.) 



the end of the furrow. Each paraglos- 

 sa bears about 22-27 taste-cups, in my 

 specimen 22 on the left, and 27 on the 

 right paraglossa ; on the inside, near the 

 base of each labial palpus, and opposite 

 the middle of the paraglossae are situ- 

 ated a group of exactly similar taste- 

 cups, which are, however, rather like 

 pegs than sunken cups or pits ; they are 

 protected in front by a few defensive 

 spinules ; and there are about 30 on each 

 side. 



In the Botnbus^ the left paraglossa 

 bears about 28 taste-pegs arranged in 

 irregular oblique rows ; on the right are 

 28. On the base of the labial palpi, the 

 taste-cups are less peg-shaped, more like 

 cups, the rods being shorter and smaller 

 while the rim of the cup is more marked. 

 The terminal joint of the maxillae of 

 Vespa ?)iaciclata have no taste-cups, but 

 about 3c; taste-rods, which are much 

 longer than those of Vespa vulgaris 

 figured by Will. 



I have also observed the taste-cups 

 in the epipharynx of the honey bee. 



Taste-cups oil the epip/tarynx of 



