THE APIDA. 257 
foot, which is very useful in building, and there are some long 
and close hairs which form a nice little brush, which can often 
be placed in contact with the brush behind. 
The mouth has some remarkable structures in it. The man- 
dibles enlarge towards their ends, and, as they terminate in a plane 
surface with a projecting border, they only close together suff- 
Ladd i 
HN 
4 
wh 
! Ht 
Of a fertile female. Of a worker, seen 
Seen from the inside. The male. 
from outside. 
HIND LEGS OF THE BEE. 
ciently to permit the proper quantity of wax to rest between 
them that should be worked at one time. The jaws and lower 
lip are long and flexible, and constitute a most perfect apparatus 
for sucking up honey. 
of the insect. 
The females and workers of nearly all the nest-making Hymen- 
optera are armed with defensive weapons, which vary with the type 
The sting of the bee, or rather its effects, are 
R 
