ORGANS OF ORTHOPTEROUS INSECTS. 49 



The insects I have yet named employ their man- 

 dibles for cutting, or for macerating their food. In the 

 next division the mandibles supply the place cf tools 

 for plastering, for digging, for sawing, and for cut- 

 ting, and the food on which the insect subsists is ob- 

 tained, not by maceration, or by suction, but simply 

 by lapping. This is eflfected by a tongue well fitted for 

 the purpose, and protected by a sheath of a singiJar 

 construction from injury when not in use. The 

 insect I have selected as the representative of this 

 order is one with which you have long been familiar, 

 and from whose labours you have in more ways than 

 one derived gratification. It seems so busy and so 

 happy that the delicate Ariel found no stronger 

 image to denote his own enjoyment than the ex- 

 pression — 



" Where the bee sucks, there suck I." 



Tempest, Act V. Sc. I. 



Strictly speaking, the bee does not suck the honey 

 from flowers, but collects it by means of his tongue, 

 which is furnished with a contrivance for that pur- 

 pose, not unlike a brush, or a round plate, fringed 

 ^vith hair. If we hold a bee by its wings, the mouth 

 at first sight appears to consist only of a small trans- 

 verse lip, and a pair of strong jaws, hanng a lateral 

 motion, as in fig. 1. On further examination, how- 

 ever, a flattened instrument of a shining brown colour 



E 



