PubUaht Weekly at US Allcbi^an Street. 



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CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 16, 1897. No. 37. 



37th Year. 



specialized Development in Houey-Bees. 



BY PROF. A. .T. COOK. 



Since the demonstration of the fact of the evolution of 

 animals and plants from lower forms, men have everywhere 

 been studying specialized organs, and, no wonder, for it brings 

 to us a wonderland unsurpast. Every naturalist knows that 

 organs are more or less modified, depending upon their use. 

 The functional use of organs depends largely upon the varied 

 habits of the animal or plants. A plant or animal that does 

 much will give us the most interesting examples of modified 

 organs and varied functions. 



To all students of the common honey-bee the fact of their 

 marvelously-varied functions is well known. The bee gathers 

 honey, which it digests and stores. It gathers pollen which it 

 digests, regurgitates and feeds to the brood and also the queen 

 and drones. They also gather wax by means of which they 

 glue their combs to the hive, and cover over offensive matter 

 in the hive. They also use this to stop up cracks, and smooth 

 over rough places. They secrete wax, which is very interest- 

 ing in its make-up, transfer it from the under side of their 

 abdomen, where it is secreted, to the mouth, where it is 

 kneaded and fashioned into the most wonderful mechanism 

 known to the animal kingdom — the beautiful, matchless 

 honey-comb. 



Thus, we see that bees really perform a variety of opera- 

 tions which are hardly excelled even by man himself. We 

 have always supposed, indeed, that the wonderful honey-comb 

 could not be duplicated even by all the ingenuity of man. If 

 Mr. Weed does succeed In fashioning an article equal to the 

 natural comb, he will indeed do a wonderful piece of work. 

 Even then, he has to get the wax from the bees. I doubt if 

 man ever does succeed in making an article so thin and deli- 

 cate as is the natural honey-comb. 



Every naturalist believes that modified function, and 

 modified structure, have always gone hand in hand. Thus we 

 see that the bees must have wonderful structural modifications 

 and it is to these that I wish to direct the attention in this and 

 succeeding articles that will appear in the American Bee 

 Journal. 



I will first call attention to the wonderful developments in 

 parts of the legs of bees, and will first refer to and describe 

 the marvelous antencae-cleaners on the four legs. In order to 



do this the more satisfactorily, we will have to discover, if we 

 may, the use of the antenuLB. These horn-like organs, which 

 are appended to the head of all insects, must be very impor- 

 tant. They are as prominent in the insect as is the nose to 

 the man. We have discovered of late, indeed, that they have 

 exactly the same function. I think we may safely say that 

 the antennfe are more than nose, that they combine three 

 organs in one — nose, ears, and touch organs. That a tactile 

 or touch sense exists in the antenu;t, is very patent to any one 

 who carefully observes this insect, as It seems to feel its way, 

 ofttimes, by the use of these organs. There is some reason to 

 believe that the anteunje also answer as ears, or at least that 

 they detect vibrations, and thus are practically the same as 

 hearing organs. 



That the antennae are olfactory organs, or used to detect 

 odor, there is hardly any difference of opinions among scien- 

 tists. There are little pits which contain projections, all 

 lined or covered with very sensitive membranes in the an- 



Rcv. H. A. Winter, of Wisconsin — See page 583. 



tennM of most insects. These are much more numerous and 

 better developt in insects like the bees which have to search 

 for their food, and are probably directed toward it through 

 the sense of smell. Thus we are not surprised that drones, 

 queens, and workers among bees have these antenme pits 

 greatly developt. The workers have to find the nectar in the 

 flowers; the drone as he flies forth to mate must search for 

 the queen, and the queen in turn is eager to find the drone. It 

 Is probable that each of these kinds of bees isdirected through 

 the antenme. 



Wasps, also, In searching for insects to store their cells, 



