46 Descriptive Zoology. 



the honeybee is liquid, and the tongue is the conspicuous 

 organ. The two nlaxillae, with the two labial palps, form 

 the sucking tube, within which the cylindrical tongue moves 

 up and down. 



The antennae are like an arm bent at right angles at the 

 elbow. The pollen " basket " (see Fig. 34) is on the out- 

 side of the tibia of the hind legs of the workers, and is 

 simply a flattened segment surrounded by stiff hairs. The 

 sting is a modified ovipositor, consisting of several pieces 

 closely fitting together, constituting a tube, through which 

 the poison is conveyed from the poison gland within the tip 

 of the abdomen. 



FIG. 35. HONEYBEE. 



a, drone or male; b, worker or infertile female; c , queen or fertile female. 

 From Jordan and Kellogg's Animal Life. 



Kinds of Bees in a Hive. There are three forms of 

 honeybees, the queen or female, the drones or males, 

 and the workers, which are undeveloped females. There 

 is but one queen in a hive most of the time, and compara- 

 tively few drones, the great majority being workers. The 

 average hive consists of from twenty-five thousand to thirty- 

 five thousand bees, but there may be as many as fifty thou- 

 sand. The drones have broad, blunt bodies, and have no 

 stings ; and may be further distinguished by their large 

 eyes, which make up most of the head. They may be found 

 in the hive in the early summer, but after the swarming 



