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COLLEGE ZOOLOGY 



5. Class IV. Insecta 



a. The Honey-bee 



The honey-bee, Apis mellifica, is one of the most interesting of 

 all insects (Lat. insedus, cut into) because of its wonderful adap- 

 tations to its environment, its complex social life, and its economic 

 value to man. Honey-bees live in colonies of about sixty thou- 

 sand, in which there are three kinds of individuals — workers, 

 drones, and a queen. The queen (Fig. 236) normally lays all the 



MALE FEMALE WORKER 



Fig. 236. — The honey-bee, Apis mellifica. (From Shipley and MacBride.) 



eggs. She lives for three years or more and can be distinguished 

 from the other bees by the greater length of her abdomen and 

 the absence of a pollen basket (Fig. 238, A, ti). The drone 

 (Fig. 236) is the male bee; he does no work, but lives only to 

 mate with the queen. His abdomen is broad; his eyes are very 

 large; and he has no pollen basket. The worker (Fig. 236) is a 

 sexually undeveloped female; it does not lay eggs normally, but 

 spends its time caring for the colony. Unless otherwise stated, 

 the following description refers to the worker b>ee. 



Anatomy and Physiology. — External Features. — The 

 body of the honey-bee is supported and protected by a firm exo- 

 skeleton of chitin. Three regions are recognizable — the head, 

 thorax, and abdomen. 



The head (Fig. 237) consists of probably six segments fused 

 together, forming a skull. On either side is a large compound eye; 

 on top are three simple eyes (ocelli) ; in front are two antenna (a) ; 

 and projecting downward are a number of mouth parts. 



