6o 



ANIMAL BIOLOGY 



the wax scales which are secreted by the wax glands. 



There is no pollen comb or basket and no wax pincers on 



the legs of either queen or drone. 



The wax glands are found only in the worker. There 



are four pairs of these on the lower side of the abdomen. 



The wax is secreted in the form of thin scales which are 



seized by the pincers and passed forward to the jaws 

 where they are mixed with saliva 

 and kneaded into the proper con- 

 sistency for making comb. 



The sting which is present in the 

 worker and queen but not in the 

 drone is composed of two very fine 

 and sharp " darts" which glide into 

 a sheath at the posterior end of 

 the body. There is a poison sac 

 within the abdomen whose contents 

 are forced into the wound in the 

 process of stinging. The sting is 

 really a modified ovipositor, a fact 

 that explains its absence in the 

 drone. Near the tip of the sting 



of P c G o m 5 ^ W h o r n k e" " ** * fine, recurved teeth which 



(Apis mellifera); natural make the Sting difficult to pull OUt 

 size. (After Benton.) , ., , , . . J . 



when it has entered far into the 



flesh. In fact, the bees are frequently unable to pull out 

 the sting and in freeing themselves certain organs of the 

 abdomen are pulled away with the sting so that the in- 

 sects pay the penalty of their boldness with their lives. 

 Gathering honey, keeping the hive clean, feeding the 

 queen and young grubs, building the comb, and many 

 other acts keep the worker bee well occupied during 

 the period of its short life, which lasts in the summer only 

 two or three months. The comb of the bee consists of 



