74 BEES' TONGUES, AND HOW THEY SUCK HONEY 



the stipes ; on the flattened ends of these rods 

 there swings a joint shaped something like the 

 " merrythought " bone of a chicken, called the 

 lor a or reins (20, B), to the central angle of which 

 are suspended the pieces of the apparatus which 

 terminate in the tongue. This V-shaped joint 

 can swing over on its feet, and can therefore 

 lie either between the stipites or rods with its 

 angle pointing towards the tail of the bee, or in 

 the opposite direction with its angle projecting 

 beyond them and pointing forwards. It will 

 at once be seen that by this turn of the V the 

 tongue can be projected a distance equivalent 

 to twice the length of the V. 



This V-shaped joint varies much in the length 

 of its arms, which are much longer in the long- 

 tongued than in the short-tongued bees. 



When we examine the parts that are suspended 

 from this joint, we shall find that the actual 

 tongue is separated from it by two distinct 

 pieces ; the first (i.e. that next to the lor a) a short 

 joint (the submentum, 20, C), the second (the 

 mentum, 20, D) a long semi- cylindrical joint which 

 holds as in a trough the softer parts at the base 

 of the tongue. From the apex of the mentum 



