PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING 7 



antennae are appendages of the head believed to bear sense organs. 

 Cleaning the antennae is accomplished by the bee's throwing the fore 

 leg up over the head, and the antennae fitting in the indentation, is 

 iu closed by the spur and drawn through the circular comb thus 

 formed. By this process, repeated several times, all particles of 

 dust are removed from the antennae by the little teeth of the 

 comb. The tibial spur of the middle leg is used as a crow-bar in 

 the removal of the pellet of pollen from the tibia of the hind leg. 

 In the hind leg the spur is missing, but located in a similar position 

 to that of the antennae cleaner we have a structure known as the 

 wax-forceps which is opened and closed by the bending of the 

 tarsal joint on the tibia. The use of this forceps will be spoken 

 of later in connection with the wax glands. 



Fig. 1. Foot of Bee, with the Pulvillus in Use. (magnified fifty times) 

 A, under view of foot; t, t, tarsal joints; an, anguiculi; fh, feeling hairs; pv, 

 pulvillus; cr, curved rod. B, side view of foot; lettering as before. C, cen- 

 tral part of sole; pd, pad; cr, curved rod; fh, feeling hairs; pv, pulvillus un- 

 opened. (From Cheshire by courtesy of L. Upcott Gill, London.) 



The tibia of the hind leg is modified to form a pollen basket 

 known as the corbicula. This basket is formed simply by long 

 curved hairs arranged along the edges of the flattened and indent- 

 ed tibia, curving outward and over, enclosing, when filled, the pel- 

 let of more or less adhesive pollen. 



