112 GRAMMAR OF ENTOMOLOGY. 



taking food. It consists of an upper and lower 

 lip, two mandibles, two feeler-jaws, and a tongue. 



391. The upper lip (labrum) corresponds closely 

 with the same organ in vertebrate animals : it is a 

 solid, horny plate, which arises from beneath the 

 clypeus, and projects beyond it : it is articulated 

 at its junction, with the head moving freely in a 

 vertical direction, and closing the mouth above : 

 its appearance is more uniform than that of any 

 other organ of the mouth. 



392. The uvula (hypopharynx) is a valve 

 attached to the interior surface of the upper lip ; 

 its office is to close the throat. The hypopharynx 

 is not to be discovered in the generality of insects ; 

 it is, however, particularly prominent in some 

 kinds of wild bees. 



393. The throat (pharynx) is the opening im- 

 mediately below the hypopharynx ; it is the only 

 passage for the food into the stomach. 



394. The lower lip (labium) closes the mouth 

 below, as the upper lip does above : it is a much 

 more complicated organ than the upper lip, and 

 its variations afford excellent characters for de- 

 scriptions : it consists of four distinct parts, which 

 are obviously separated by sutural lines. 



395. The insertion of the lower lip (insertio) is 

 usually concealed by the mentum below it, but 

 occasionally projects considerably beyond it, and 

 becomes a part of some importance. 



396. The true lip (labium proprium) is a solid, 



