MOUTH OF THE BEE. 13 



elude the naked eye, for, in the words of the late Pro- 

 fessor Forbes, " wonders are none the less wonderful 

 for being packed into small compass." 



But instead of proceeding at once to consider the 

 structure of the truly suctorial insects, or those in 

 which the whole of the organs of the mouth have been 

 rendered subservient to the imbibition of fluids, it 

 may be as well to stop by the way to examine the 

 construction of these parts in certain insects, which 

 exhibit, as it were, a union of the two characters. 

 Such insects are the well-known Bees, in which this 

 combination of structure is necessary to enable them 

 on the one hand to collect their liquid food from the 

 nectaries of flowers, and on the other to perform those 

 ingenious operations which have rendered them objects 

 of admiration in all ages. The suctorial organ in 

 these insects consists of the tongue, which is drawn 

 out into a long tube ; it is accompanied by the labial 

 palpi, and enclosed in a long sheath composed of the 

 maxillae, which acquire a scaly texture, and overlap 

 each other partially at the edges. The labrum or 

 upper lip still retains its ordinary position at the front 

 of the mouth, and immediately behind it is a pair of 

 strong mandibles, with which the Bees perform the 

 most varied functions, some of them digging deeply 

 into the earth or into posts, others cutting pieces out 

 of leaves as neatly as if they were done with scissors, 

 others again working deftly in clay or mud, whilst 

 the Hive Bee surpasses all the rest in her delicate 

 wax-work. 



In the mouth of the Bee there is but little difficulty 

 in recognizing the organs already described as belong- 

 ing to an ordinary biting insect, and yet many of them 

 are so modified, that on a careless glance their origin 



