1908 



GLEANINGS IN 15EE CULTURE. 



1003 



the members to 

 gether. Chitin is 

 an admirable ma- 

 terial of an exceed- 

 ingly firm but 

 elastic nature. A 

 description of the 

 leg gives us an idea 

 of the construction 

 of the whole bee. 

 Let us look, there- 

 fore, at the repro- 

 duction of a sec- 

 tion through the 

 little basket of the 

 hind legs, which 

 serves as a recep- 

 tacle for the gath- 

 ered pollen. Fig. 

 1. In this illus- 

 tration ch is the 

 chitinous mem- 

 brane. At both 

 ends we find the 

 hairs, //, which 

 serve to hold the 

 little loaf of pol- 

 len. In the inte- 

 rior we are sur- 

 prised to see, tak- 

 ing up considera- 

 ble space, the two muscles, w, w — the first the 

 extensor, the second the flexor, of the foot; a 

 is the great air-space from which are discharged 

 the little bronchial tubes, of which we see two 

 in the section hr. This air-space is separated 

 from the other parts by a very fine membrane 



FIG. 3. — FIRST LEG. 

 ti. extensor of the tibia; F, femur; Tr., trochanter; e. ta., extensor of the tarsus; /. la. flexor of 

 tarsus; Ti., tibia; c, cleaning-apparatus Ta., tarsus; P., pulvillus. 



which serves for the exchange of gases — name- 

 ly, oxygen and carbonic acid. The oxygen is 

 brought by the bronchus from the outer air and 

 penetrates the membrane to go into the great 

 blood space /'/ which surrounds all inner organs 

 and gives them food for their labor. Inversely 

 goes the carbonic acid, which 

 is a product of combustion 

 from the blood into the air- 

 space, or from there into the 

 free atmosphere. 



At // we see a section of 

 the nerve, which, dividing 

 itself into different branches, 

 gives the impulse of move- 

 ment to the muscles, and 

 transmits the sensations to 

 the brain or spinal marrow. 



The legs are covered with 

 hairs of different size. The 

 hairs of the coxa and tro- 

 chanter are pinnate. All the 

 legs have on the end of the 

 foot an apparatus for fixing 

 or clinging. There are two 

 claws, each composed of two 

 hooks, with which the bee is 

 enabled to get hold on dif- 

 ferent objects. Between the 

 claws there is the pulvillus 

 (shown at a, Fig. 2), a little 

 bolster secreting a viscous 

 sap. By the aid of the pul- 

 villus the bee can climb a 

 polished surface like a pane 

 of glass. 



Let us now look at the 

 most interesting and com- 

 plicated part of the leg — the 



FIG. 4. LARGER VIEW OF THE TIBIA-PALMAR JOINT ON THE 



FIRST LEG, SHOWING THE CLEANING-APPARATUS. 



