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The mouth is composed of six pieces, namely, a pair 

 of hard horny jaws called mandibles, a pair of soft jaws 

 below called maxillae or chewing jaws ; a plate above, 

 the upper lip and a platform below, really double, the 

 lower lip. The maxillae and lower lip each bear a jointed 

 process on their sides, the maxillary and labial palps 

 respectively. These palpi are sensory organs. The 

 eyes are of two kinds, compound and simple. The 

 former are large and are placed on each side of the head ; 

 they are composed of a number of hexagonal columns or 

 facets; the eye resembling a piece of honey comb. The 

 simple eyes may be absent or they may be two or three 

 in number, situated on the summit of the head ; they are 

 seen as small raised points, easily noticeable in bees. 



The feelers or antennae are jointed processes of great 

 diversity of form ; they may be thread-like or plumose, 

 pectinated or elbowed, etc. The antennae often differ in 

 form in the two sexes. They are sensory organs, being 

 connected with the senses of smell and touch and 

 possibly hearing. 



The thorax or mid-body is normally composed of 

 three rings, called the pro-, meso-, and meta- thorax. 

 They may be quite separate as seen in a grasshopper, 

 or more or less fused as seen in a bee. 



The thorax carries the organs of locomotion, namely, 

 wings and legs. The former are attached to the upper 

 part of the thorax and may be of one or two pairs, or they 

 may be absent ^ apterous insects); the first pair of 

 wings are attached to the mid-portion of the thorax. An 

 insect wing normally is a thin membranous expansion, 

 supported by rigid hollow ribs, called veins or nervures, 



