between the two. Reaumur, Newport, Kirby, 

 Spence, Carpenter, Shuckard, Bevan, and 

 Hunter all state that the tongue is solid, 

 and that the honey is sopped up, or taken 

 through a tube, formed by the close approxi- 

 mation of the maxillae labium, and labial 

 palpi. Newport speaks of a haiiy sheath 

 along the under side of the basal two-thirds of 

 the organ. Neighbour says there is a gutter 

 throughout the entire length of the tongue. 

 While Swammerdam, Lamarck, Burmeister, 

 Wildman and Munn claim that the organ is 



tubular. Newport and Carpenter assert that 

 the bee's tongue is muscular, which is denied 

 by Cuvier, Reaumur and Chambers. 



That bees lap the nectar is affirmed by 

 Reaumur, Newport, Kirby and Spence, Sa- 

 vigny, Carpenter, Bevan and Hunter; while 

 Swammerdam, Wildman, Lamarck, Burmeis- 

 ter, Munn and Neighbour claim that the bees 

 take liquids by suction. 



Amid these conflicting views let us see if 

 we may find the truth. To do this we must 

 examine closely the structure of the organ, 

 and also watch the insect as it is taking its fill 

 of honey or some other liquid. 



In the April number of the Journal of the 

 Cincinnati Society of Natural History, for 



1878, Mr. V. T. Chambers, an able entomolo- 

 gist of Covington, Kentucky, published a 

 very admirable paper upon this subject. In 

 the American Quarterly Microscopical Journal 

 for 1879, p. 2S7, the subject was again pre- 

 sented in a beautifully illustrated article by 

 Mr. J. D. Hyatt, President of the New 

 York Microscopical Society. I learn that 

 Wolff has published a fully illustrated memoir 

 on the anatomy of the honey-bee which, I 

 regret to say, I have not seen. From Messrs. 

 Chambers and Hyatt's papers, and my own 

 researches and observations, I am able to pre- 

 sent the following facts : 



The mouth-parts of the honey-bee brought 

 into requisition when the insect takes a liquid 

 into its pharynx, are the maxillae and the 

 labium. 



The maxilla? or second jaws (see m x in 

 Fig. A) are situated each side of the labium. 

 They are hinged to the head by the strong 

 cardos (see c, c in Fig. A) which are chitinous 

 rods. Extending forward from the cardo is 

 the more flattened stipes (see st, st in Fig. A) 

 which is also mainly chitinous. From the 

 stipes projects the triangular, deeply grooved 

 lacinia (see 1, 1 in Fig. A). This is more mem- 

 branous, but it is strengthened by a ridge of 

 chitine which extends to the apex. At the 

 base the very rudimentary maxillary palpi 

 (see mp, mp in Fig. A) are visible, while scat- 

 tering hairs project from the inner margins. 

 When the maxillae are brought close together 

 a tube is formed, which is continued by aid of 

 a colorless membrane to the opening into the 

 pharynx. This opening is beneath the labi- 

 um and between the mandibles. The color- 

 less membrane is continuous with the epi- 

 pharynx. The muscles which move the 

 maxillae are attached mainly to the cardo and 

 stipes. 



The labium or lower lip of the worker 

 honey-bee is from twenty-three to twenty-seven 

 hundredths of an inch long. It consists of a 

 central portion, and two pairs of appendages, 

 the paraglossse (see P, P in Fig. A) and the 

 labial palpi (see k, k in Fig A). The central 

 portion is divided into a basal two-sevenths, 

 or mentum (see m in Fig. A) and the terminal 

 five-sevenths or ligula (see t in Fig A & B). The 

 mentum is about seven-hundredths of an inch 

 long. It is hinged to the sub-mentum (see o 

 in Fig. A) which in turn is hinged to the max- 

 illae by two chitinous rods (see b, b in Fig. A). 

 These rods permit free motion, and to them 

 are attached muscles, which in part affect the 

 movements of the labium. The mentum is a 

 flattened cylinder, the floor and sides of 

 which are thick and opaque, because of the 

 abundance of chitine contained in their struc- 

 ture. While lining this chitinous gutter and 

 completing the tube is a thin colorless mem- 

 brane, which is but the anterior prolongation 

 of the pharynx. There are also abundant 

 muscles within the mentum which extend 



