12 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 



ducts to minute openings opposite each barb, from which openings 

 it passes and thus enters into the lowest portion of the wound. The 

 honey bee usually inserting the stinger to its full depth is unable 

 t3 extricate it, and so, in attempting to free itself, generally muti- 

 lates its body to such an extent that death ensues within a few 

 hours. The stinger continues to act automatically for some mo- 

 ments after the first act of stinging and more poison is injected. 

 Obviously, for this reason, the stinger should be removed as quick- 

 ly as possible, and, since squeezing the stinger in an endeavor to pul! 

 it only introduces more poison, it should be removed by a scrap- 

 ing motion of the fingernail. 



If we examine the sides of the abdomen of the bee we will find 

 small oval openings, one to each segment, known as spiracles. 

 These open into an elaborate series of tubular passage ways, known 

 as tracheae, leading into the tracheoles, which ramify into every pait 

 of the body of the insect, carrying air to the most remote tissues 

 Circulation is accomplished through a dorsal blood vessel operating 

 in lieu of a heart, driving the blood forward where it bathes the 

 brain first and then gradually returns through the body cavity, en- 

 tering the dorsal pericardial cavity through a series of openings. 

 In a practical treatise of this kind we cannot go into the details of 

 those portions of the anatomy and physiology of the bee, however 

 interesting and wonderful they may be, which do not bear directly 

 upon some practical feature, and for this reason we must pass 

 rapidly over the internal anatomy. Suffice it to say in connection 

 with the nervous system, that there is not a complete centralization 

 of nervous control, as is the case in higher animals, but .instead 

 control is diffused among a series of ganglia occuring throughout 

 the length of the body, explaining the striking performance of a de- 

 capitated bee running about for some time and even attempting to 

 fly, after the head has been removed. There is, of course, a cephalic 

 ganglion or brain which is more highly specialized than the others, 

 for the reception of sensations and general control of the body. 



We will pass quickly over the digestive systern, citing the most 

 important structures. The honey sack deserves notice. This is 

 located immediately preceding the stomach ami is connected with 

 the latter by a very complicated and interesting passage called the 

 stomach mouth. This passage is composed of four lip-like sides, 



