ANATOMY OF THE HONEY-BEE 185 



each side a long appendage; these are the labial 

 j>al'pi (Plate XXV, 3, p). 



The thorax. — The thorax is the central region of 

 the body. It consists of three body-segments, 

 which are grown together so compactly in the adult 

 insect that it is difficult to distinguish them. The 

 thorax bears the organs of locomotion, the wings and 

 the legs. 



There are two pairs of wings; but the two wings of 

 each side are so closely united that they appear as one. 

 The union is accomplished by a row of hooks on the 

 front edge of the hind wing, which fasten into a 

 fold in the hind edge of the fore wing. The wings 

 are strengthened by a framework of heavy lines, 

 which extend in various but definite directions. 

 Between these lines the wing is a thin membrane. 



There are three pairs of legs, a pair borne by each 

 of the three body-segments of which the thorax is 

 composed. 



Each leg consists of nine segments and a pair of 

 claws at the tip of the last segment. The first two 

 segments, the coxa and the trochanter, are short; 

 then follow the two principal segments, the femur, or 

 thigh, and the tibia, or shank; the five remaining 

 segments constitute the tarsus or foot. A striking 

 peculiarity in the tarsi of bees is that the first seg- 

 ment differs greatly in form from the other segments 

 and is much larger, approaching the tibia in size. 

 This enlarged tarsal segment has received the special 

 name of metatarsus. 



The legs serve several functions besides that of 



