xvin. THE HONEY BEE. 271 



taste in the mouth, and tactile organs in various parts of 

 the body. In the antennae we have sense-organs of 

 extreme delicacy which may perform other functions than 

 those of smell and touch, and of the actual use of which 

 we are almost completely ignorant. Here again, as in 

 the case of the eye, the bee is provided with a special 

 apparatus for cleansing its antennae. In the fore-leg, just 

 at the hinge between two joints, there is in the outer joint 

 a semi-circular notch into which the feeler neatly fits. 

 Attached to the inner of the two joints is a little cap 

 which, when the limb is bent, closes on to the antenna 

 and holds it in place in the semi-circular notch, wherein 

 are comb-like bristles that remove from the feeler, as 

 it is drawn through the notch, all extraneous particles. 

 More primitive insects, like the cockroach, suck their 

 antennae or clean them with their mouth-organs. But the 

 mouth-organs of the bee having been specially modified 

 to sip the nectar of flowers, a special antenna-comb has 

 been developed on the fore-limb. And the sensory import- 

 ance of the organ would seem fully to justify the care 

 which the bee bestows upon it. Huber's description of 

 the distracted condition of a queen whose antennae had 

 been cut off is quite heartrending. 



I have not by any means exhausted the points of interest 

 which my little friend presents. I have said scarce any- 

 thing about the tongue with which she sips the nectar of 

 flowers ; nothing of the manner in which this nectar is 

 converted into honey; nothing of the beautiful petal- 

 mouthed honey-sac. I have scarcely alluded to the 

 delicate hooks which serve to connect the upper and 

 under wings in flight, and have not described the foot- 

 pads and booklets which enable a bee to cling to almost 

 any surface smooth or rough. I have left unnoticed the 

 pollen-baskets, and made no point of the sting. As to 



