OFFENSIVE WEAPONS. 



403 



also comes in aid of its lacerating power, liquid poison, con- 

 tained in an attached bag, from which, on pressure by a me- 

 chanical contrivance, it is ejected into the wound at the moment 

 of its infliction. This deadly weapon is a bee's sting. 



We are shown next the blood-drawing stiletto of a gnat. 

 We inspect it with an unaided eye. It seems to us a needle, 

 solid, pointed, fine as a hair. We see it in the microscope, and 

 in lieu of a simple needle, we behold a compound of several 

 pieces, some of which are barbed. These are the piercers, while 

 the sheath which encloses them is the sucker, which completes 

 the apparatus. 1 



1 See Reaumur, Swammerdam, Burnieister, and " Insect Architecture." 



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