2 6S THE HUMBLE-BEE 



ness, her head, even when she is unoccupied, being 

 held erect and her antennae pointing at attention. 

 But occasionally I have found a fully animated 

 queen resting on a plant or flower with her head 

 hanging down and her antennae resting on her face, 

 evidently indulging in a nap like the sleep of the 

 higher animals, for she awakes with a start when 

 disturbed. Before the cares of motherhood have 

 come upon her, the queen is very fond of dropping 

 off to sleep in the warm sunshine or in her newly- 

 found nest. 



We have seen how the legs are employed in 

 collecting pollen and wax ; they have also a third 

 and less specialised use, namely, to keep the insect 

 clean. Several pages would be needed to describe 

 the various motions they make in brushing and 

 combing the different parts of the body. It is 

 sufficient to say that the head together with the 

 tongue and antennae is cleaned by the front legs, 

 the thorax by the middle legs, and the abdomen 

 and wings by the hind legs. In the middle and 

 hind legs it is the brushes on the inner sides of the 

 metatarsi that do most of the work. Every speck 

 of dust and pollen is removed by repeated brush- 

 ings. Finally the legs are cleaned by being rubbed 

 together. The cleaning of the head and antennae 

 is often the prelude to taking a flight, whereas the 

 brushing of the coat on the thorax and abdomen is 

 frequently performed when the bee returns to the 

 nest after a dusty forage in the fields. Many 

 queens when they grow old get careless about 



