PARTS OF INSECTS, AND MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS. 



127 



The proboscis of the bee is 

 shown of its natural size in 

 figure 215, and a magni- 

 fied view of the same is pre- 

 sented in figure 216. It is 

 here seen to consist of five dis- 

 tinct parts, the central stem, 

 a, ft, called the tongue, and 

 four other parts arranged in 

 pairs, constituting two sheaths. 

 The exterior sheath is formed 

 of the two branches, /, n, g, Jc, 

 and e, o, A, I ; and the interior 

 of the parts c, r, #, and c?, s, v. 

 These sheaths are composed of 

 a horny substance, are fringed 

 with hair, and provided with 

 joints ; and fold down upon the 

 tongue one over the other, 

 forming together in appear- 

 ance a single tube, convex out- 

 ward, and concave inward, to- 

 wards the trunk of the bee. 

 The articulations of the outer 

 sheath are at g and A, and the 

 parts above, which in the fig- 

 ure are widely separated, can 

 be folded down at pleasure 

 upon the central stem, by 

 means of these joints. The 

 branches of the interior sheath are each possessed of three joints, the lower jointed 

 portion being longer than either of the other two, which are always kept curved 

 outwards, as represented in the figure at d and c, even when the complex 

 apparatus is closed as much as possible. It is supposed by Swammerdam, that 

 these fringed joints aid the bee in the manner of fingers by opening those flower- 

 cups that but partially reveal their sweets, and removing obstructions that would 

 otherwise pi-event the tongue from reaching the inmost recesses of the blossom. 

 The upper part of the tongue consists of rings, fringed with circles of hair, and 

 it terminates in a small knob, which is also fringed. The office of the hair is to 

 brush off and secure the honey discovered by the insect in the flower- cells. 

 The lower part of the tongue is membranous in its structure, and can be 

 greatly distended, and when the bee is collecting its food, form a capacious bag 

 for the sweet juices, that are ultimately converted into honey. The insect 

 gathers its treasures by lapping them up with this complex instrument from the 



Fig. 215. 



