256 



working right through, and gently drawing the fore 

 part of the body away from the rest. It will be found 

 that this operation removes the first pair of legs, the 

 ventral plates of the prothorax, and the head. The 

 honey sac may be drawn along with it, or it may be 

 severed. These parts should be drawn to a corner of 

 the slide and left there until the preparation is com- 

 pleted. 



If the operation here described is properly performed 

 it will be found that in the fore part of the thorax 

 there are now exposed the muscles of flight, pale pink 

 or whitish in colour, occupying the main part of the 

 thoracic cavity. Towards the side of these lie the 

 thoracic tracheae which may or may not be visible at 

 this stage. In badly infested bees, whose tracheae are 

 more or less bronzed, they can usually be readily 

 observed. 



Continuing the dissection, the operator still holds the 

 bee in position by means of the needle held in the left 

 hand. The scalpel is now inserted behind the narrow 

 chitinous bands which form the ventral termination of 

 the protergum. These form the anterior border of the 

 exposed surface and lie in a little depression in front 

 of the second pair of legs. They separate easily from 

 the adjacent chitin. The scalpel is now worked along 

 both sides towards the dorsal region, breaking through 

 the chitin of the meso-thorax on each side where this 

 lies adjacent to the backwardly directed lateral lobe of 

 the pro-thorax which conceals the spiracle. The parts 

 thus separated along with the soft tissues enclosed by 

 them should now be drawn apart from the remainder of 

 the bee. If the operation has been cleanly performed, 

 they will contain the whole of the pro-thoracic tracheal 

 system which is liable to be infested with the mites. 



Until more familiar with the various tissues of the 

 bee, beginners will find it best in their preliminary ex- 

 aminations to proceed as follows : Spread well with a 

 pair of needles the soft parts thus separated out in a 

 little water on the slide. Gently lower a coverslip on 

 the top and wipe up any excess of water by means of 

 a strip of blotting paper. The remaining parts of the 

 bee, posterior to the pro-thorax, should be drawn to a 

 corner of the slide until the examination is completed. 



