INSECTS. 503 



The proboscis or trunk of the Honey-bee next demands 

 attention ; this it uses, with its accessories, to collect the 

 honey for its food while roving about from flower to 

 flower. The proboscis itself (fig. 259) is very curiously 

 divided ; the divisions are elegant and regular, beset with 

 triangular hairs, which being numerous, appear at first 

 sight as a number of different articulations. The two 

 outside lancets are spear-shaped, of a membranaceous or 

 horny substance, set on one side with short hairs, and 

 having their interior hollow; at the base of each is a 

 hinge-articulation, which permits of considerable motion in 

 several directions, and is evidently used by the busy insect 

 for the purpose of opening the internal parts of flowers, 

 and thus facilitating the introduction of its proboscis. 

 The two shorter feelers are closely connected to the pro- 

 boscis, and terminate in three jointed articulations. 

 Swammerdam thought these were used as fingers in 

 assisting the removal of obstructions; but it is more 

 probable that they are made use of by the insect for 

 storing, removing the bee-bread to and from the pocket- 

 receptacles in the legs. The lower part of the proboscis 

 is so formed that it may be considerably enlarged at 

 its base, and thus made to contain a larger quantity 

 of the collected juice of flowers, at the same time, it 

 is in this cavity that the nectar is transformed into 

 pure honey by some peculiar chemical process. The pro- 

 boscis tapers off to a little nipple-like extremity, and at 

 its base will be seen two shorter and stronger mandibles, 

 which serve the little insects in the construction of their 

 cells, and from between which is protruded a long and 

 narrow tongue or lance; the whole is most ingeniously 

 connected to the head by a horny material, and a series 

 of muscles and ligaments. The proboscis, being cylin- 

 drical, extracts the juice of the flower in a somewhat 

 similar way to that of the butterfly; when it is loaded 

 with honey, its next care is to fill the very ingenious 

 pockets situated in its hind-legs (one of which is shown 

 at No. 2) with bee-bread ; when these little pockets 

 are filled with as much pollen as the bee can conveniently 

 carry, it flies back to the hive with its valuable load, where 

 it is speedily assisted to unload by its fellow-workers; 



