MAY 1, 1913 



while the bee is flj-ing. may be engaged in 

 the process of direetljr and indirectly trans- 

 ferring the pollen from some part of the 

 bee's anatomy to the pollen-basket. " Bnsy 

 as a Bee," for the bee is busy not only 

 while in the flower, but while it is on the 

 wing. It can not afford to waste valuable 

 time merely in flying, so it keeps its legs 

 busy in making pollen gathered on its body 

 and legs) into a bee-bread, or, more exact- 

 ly, a pollen paste consisting of honey and 

 pollen gi-ains, making little patties of dough. 



The process of following the transfer- 

 ence of pollen from the mouth parts to the 

 middle legs, and even to the pollen combs 

 of the hind legs, is not so difficult. Most 

 of the authors who have attempted to de- 

 scribe it have been fairly accurate; but au- 

 thorities have differed widely as to how the 

 pollen was transferred from the pollen 

 combs on the hind legs to the pollen-bas- 

 kets; and no one seems to have discovered 

 the correct method until Sladen and Cas- 

 teel, each independently of the other, dug 

 it out. 



Those who have studied the anatomy of 

 the bee will remember that, on the hind jDair 

 of legs, there seems to be between the joints 

 a big pair of pincers or jaws. These pin- 

 cers or jaws are opened when the legs are 

 flexed, and closed when they are straighten- 

 ed out. Some have supposed that the func- 

 tion of these was for the purpose of mas- 

 ticating or working wax; others, that they 

 were used for hanging hold of each other 

 while hanging in the swarm. There have 

 been all kinds of guesses, but they have 

 been wild. Sladen and Casteel have proved 

 beyond a question that they are used for 

 the purpose of pressing the mass of loose 

 pollen and honey, and at the same time 

 forcing it up under pressure into the pollen- 

 basket on the outside of the leg. The pol- 

 len combs of the hind legs receive the pol- 

 len from the middle legs, and from the un- 

 der side of the bodj^ of the bee. The pecten 

 spurs or the upper part of the pincers 

 catch or gather the pollen from the pollen 

 combs on the opposite hind leg. The jaws 

 close, squeezing the mass so that it is forced 

 under pressure to the opposite side of the 

 leg up into the pollen-basket, just about 

 as you would squeeze putty out from be- 

 tween the ends of the fingers. These little 

 masses of pollen, or mouthfuls, so to speak, 

 are gi'adually forced upward, pushing the 

 general mass higher up in the basket. The 

 process is somewhat similar to the method 

 of putting fuel in one of our house fur- 

 naces. The coal is pushed up from the bot- 

 tom under the fire-pot, shovelful by shovel- 

 ful, so to speak, until the fire-pot is filled 



full. In the same way the bee fills its 

 pollen-basket from beneath; and this filling 

 continues until the lump of pollen is pressed 

 out in all directions, crowding against the 

 hairs or sj^ines of the pollen-basket, and 

 sometimes away past them; and as the 

 mass is wet with honey it sticks to whatever 

 it comes in contact. The old popular be- 

 lief was that the middle legs, in some way 

 unexplained, put the pollen in the pollen- 

 basket from the outside. While these mid- 

 dle leg's do reach back over the pollen mass 

 in the baskets, the purpose of the move- 

 ment is evidently to determine whether the 

 lump is holding its position. 



The whole process as described by Sladen 

 and Casteel is exceedingly interesting; and 

 it is of more value because each worked out 

 the problem without the knowledge of what 

 the other was doing. It is a mai^el that 

 either should have discovered the process; 

 but when it is once explained it seems so 

 clear that there is no room for doubt. 



There has been some speculation as to 

 what is used by the bees in moistening the 

 l^ollen. Some have thought that it was sa- 

 liva; but the majority have held that it 

 was honey. Dr. Casteel has proved that 

 hone,y is the agent, for chemical analysis 

 shows that, beyond a doubt. Honey that is 

 obtained from the mouth parts is trans- 

 ferred to the fore legs, and sometimes to 

 the middle legs, and by the latter to the 

 hind legs, or pollen-combs, that catch and 

 receive the dry pollen. This is subsequently 

 worked over and transferred to the pair of 

 ])incers already mentioned, before its en- 

 trance into the pollen-baskets as just ex- 

 plained. 



This interesting bulletin can be secured 

 from the Superintendent of Documents, 

 Government Printing-office, calling for cir- 

 cular 121, and inclosing five cents. Do not 

 send stamps, as the Government does not 

 accept them. It would be well to get in 

 your order early, as the edition of Dr. Cas- 

 ( eel's former bulletin. No. 161, on " The 

 Manipulation of the Wax Scales of the 

 Honeybee," was entirely exhausted in a 

 short time. We are pleased to note this, 

 because we want the authorities at Wash- 

 ington to know that there is a big demand 

 for any thing on the subject of bees, and 

 the more of this kind of stuff they can give 

 us, the better. 



For convenience in sending for these 

 bulletins the Department will send twenty 

 coupons for a dollar, each of which is good 

 for five cents. Buyers of public documents 

 will find the use of these coupons the most 

 convenient and the safest way of remitting 

 the amount of their purchases. 



