1887 



ULEAJSl^GS J^ BEE (JUL.TUUE. 



the outside this lias a smooth shallow cavity (F'ig. 3) 

 which forms tlic upper part of tlic pollen-basket. 

 This cavity is margined \yitli still' simple hairs, which 

 extend out and toward the end ot the leg-. They 

 help to deeiion the cavity. Those on the front edj^e 

 of the leg' curve toward the opposite edge. A few 

 of these hairs at the end of the tibia are quile long, 

 and curve so as to nearly reach the opposite edge of 

 the leg'. As will be noticed in the figure, there are 

 also a few compound hairs uii the front cdg-e of the 



the family .lpi(/(r, or bees. On the outside (Fig. 2), 

 especially on the superior back corner, the pollen- 

 basket is eontiinied. and also deepened by stiff 

 hairs. Above, on the in.side, is a sort of toothless 

 jaw, which c()mi)U'ies the iiUeresting apparatus al- 

 ready referred to. On the inside are nine rows of 

 l)right yellow stiff hairs. Those act as so many 

 combs to collect the pollen from the pollen-gather- 

 ing- hairs. We seldom catch and examine a beo in 

 the working season that does not show some i)ollen 

 grains adhering to these beautiful combs. T\to 

 four remaining tarsi are much as usual, as are the 



bee's hind le(j, magnified— two views. 

 tibia. On the inside, at the outer end of the tibia, is 

 a row of spines which help to form the curious ,iaw- 

 like apparatus seen at the joint, or articulation, be- 

 tween the tibia and next segment, or basal tarsus. 

 In describing' the jointed part of an insect, as leg, 

 antenna, or body, we speak of one piece of each 

 part as a joint, ring', or segment. 



The fifth joint, or first or basal tarsus, is very 

 broad, and really sub-rectangular, as seen in Fig-. 1. 

 This broad form is pecular to the higher genera of 



two claws and intervening piilvillus at the 

 end of the foot. 



The claws are toothed, and the iiulvillus 

 is lu'oad. 1"he claws not only enable the 

 bees to hold on to any rough substance, 

 but also to hang in clusters, as seen when 

 the bees swarm. The intervening puh illus 

 secretes a viscid substance which enaldes 

 the^bee to walk on a vertical sheet ol glass. 

 As often seen, bees find this difficult il the 

 glass is powdered with dust. 



As already stated, the higher genera 

 have the broad basal tarsus: and the high- 

 est— notably ^^n's and l,'()))i/(i(,s— the |)(illen- 

 cavities. In the carpenter bees the l)asal 

 tarsus is narrower, and alone possesses the 

 cavity. In the cuckoo bees, whieh^steal in 

 to other bees' nests, the basal tarsi; are 

 wide, but the pollen-baskets are wholly 

 warning. In the lower bees, those with 

 short tongues, like A titl re n<i, ihc first tar- 

 sus is narrow, as in other insects. The pol- 

 len-gathe'"'"fe^' or compound hairs, are quite com- 

 mon among bees, often covering much of the body, 

 especially on the lower side. The peculiar jaw-like 

 arrangement between the tibia^and tarsus I find 

 only in the worker-bee of the genus Aiiig, and in the 

 (jueens and workers of the genus Buiiiliii"- This is 

 as we should expect, if the function of these for- 

 ceps is to grasp and convey the wax scales to the 

 mouth. The beautiful pollen-combs on the inside of 

 the basal tarsus (Fig. li are peculiar to the hive 



