8 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 



The first tarsal joint is somewhat enlarged and greatly flattened 

 and has on its inner surface a series of rows of regularly arranged 

 stiff, bristle-like hairs used by the bee in cleaning itself and known 

 as combs. The use of these combs in collecting pollen will be 

 spoken of at length in the next section on the habits of bees. 



There remain a few words to be said in regard to the foot. 

 There is an interesting structure known as the foot pad or pulvillus 

 located between the two forked claws of the foot. This pad pro- 

 duces a secretion of a sticky nature which enables the bee to cling 

 to smooth surfaces. Its action is of interest. The bee, normally 

 walking upon the tips of its claws, finds itself slipping, and in the 

 struggle to stop itself the claws slip, and, in bending under, the 

 sticky pad between them comes in contact with the surface. As 

 the bee lifts the foot in taking another stride the claws serve ai 

 a pry and the pad is pulled loose, beginning at one edge as one 

 would pull or peal up a freshly stuck postage stamp. In this way 

 the bee is enabled to crawl on as highly polished a surface as a win- 

 dow pane. 



The wings are four in number and are borne on the dorsal part 

 of the first and second thoracic segments. They are membranous 

 and are carried when at rest folded one pair above the other on the 

 back of the body, thus enabling the bee to crawl into its cells with 

 perfect ease. When spread, the two wings are fastened together 

 by a series of hooks on the hind wing^which hook into a fold on the 

 fore wing, thus presenting a continuous surface to the air. Bees 

 can fly forward and backward by adjusting the action of the wings. 



We will next take up the head and its appendages. The head 

 is triangular in front view, with the mouth located in the lower an- 

 gle. At the two upper angles are located the two large compound 

 eyes, composed of a great number of hexagonal facets, covered 

 with a fine coating of hairs. Besides these compound eyes the bee 

 has three single eyes or ocelli, located in a triangle on top of the 

 head, one in the center and to the front, and the other two placed 

 laterally. On the front side of the head are borne the two feelers 

 or antennae, which function, it is believed, as sense organs smell 

 and possibly hearing. These consist of a long, basal segment, the 

 scape, and a series of small segments, the flagellum, which articu- 

 lates upon the scape. 



The mouth parts of the bee bear consideration in detail. There 



