188 
of the bee is by no means perforated at the end, and 
that fluids, for that reason, cannot enter through its 
interior, but must be transported to the opening of the 
cesophagus by the outside of the tongue. Thus with 
Swammerdamm’s error, that the tongue was perforated at 
the end, the view that it was a sucking organ was also 
rejected, and since then, even down to our own day, zoolo- 
gists seem almost unanimously to have denied in general 
the sucking power of bees. Milne-Edwards calls the Hyme- 
noptera licking insects (“Insectes Iécheurs”), and says 
that the honey-bees nourish themselves not by sucking, 
but, as it were, by lapping, nearly in the same manner as 
a cat does (‘Ainsi il n’est pas en pompant que l’Abeille 
se nourrit, mais pour ainsi dire en lapant a peu prés 
comme le fait un chat”). In like manner Carl Vogt 
expresses his opinion on the Same subject, with only the 
difference that he chooses for the comparison the dog 
instead of the cat. The bees make use of their tongue 
to lap, says Carl Vogt, in a somewhat similar manner as 
dogs apply their tongue to drink (“Sie gebrauchen ihre 
Zunge etwa in ahnlicher Weise zum Schlappen, wie die 
Hunde sich der ihrigen zum Saufen bedienen.”) * Also 
Claus} calls the parts of the mouth of the Hyme- 
noptera biting and licking (“ beissend und leckend ”), 
and Gerstaecker blames, in his annual report on the 
Progress of Entomology, Schenck for describing the 
NATURE 
| Fuly 3, 1873 
tongue of the bees as serving to suck honey, whereas, 
according to Gerstaecker’s opinion, it.is only able to lick it. 
Hence, a good number of our best zoologists absolutely 
denying the sucking of bees, and our entomological 
works affording, indeed, very detailed descriptions of the 
single parts of the mouth of the bees, but not sufficiently 
accurate ones of the use of them, it may not be fruitless 
if I explain here, in some detail, the function of the oral 
apparatus of the bee. 
If we stretch out to its fullest extent, as shown in Figs, 
1 and 2, the complex machinery of the oral apparatus of 
a hive- or humble-be2, which, when at rest, is placed by 
different foldings in an excavation in the under-side of 
the head, so as to permit but little of it to be seen, the 
most prominent part we observe is the long vermicular 
annulated tongue (/gi/a, 77), at the end of which a little 
membranous lobe is seen (/), the same which was erro- 
neously thought by Swammerdamm to be perforated. 
The ligula is composed of a great number of rings, each 
of which is provided with a whorl of hairs ; each whorl 
of hairs can be erected at will by the bee and pressed 
close to the ligula. The base of the ligula, which bears 
two appendages, the faragloss@ (fa), is inserted, together 
with them, in the tubular wzentum (mz), and can be drawn 
back, as Fig. 3 shows, into the extremity of the tubular 
mentum, so that only the tips of the paraglosse are 
Fic. 4.—Lateral view of the sucking apparatus of, a humble-bee (Bomdus hortorum L. 2) in a middle sucking Position (7: x). 
c 
yisible. On both sides of the ligula we observe, also in- 
serted in the mentum, the two four-jointed /adzal palpi 
(7f), the two first joints of which (//'), being flattened 
and very slender, with a central rib, form a sheath to the 
tongue, enclosing it from beneath, whilst the two minute 
joints at the tip of the labial palpi (/”) serve as feelers, 
When drawn back into the extremity of the tubular 
meatum, as is shown in Fig. 3, the tongue by no means 
overtops tbe labial palpi, but is wholly enclosed by them 
from beneath, whilst when pulled out as far as possible 
(as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4) it considerably overtops the 
labial palpi. The base of the mentum is inserted in a 
horay ridge, called by Kirby (in his “ Monographia Apum 
Angliz”) the fulcrum (/). The fulcrum is placed at the 
conjunction of two diverging horny ridges, called by Kirby 
cardines (c), which connect the base of the fulcrum with 
the basal portion or stipes (st) of the maxilla. The car- 
dines can be turned round their food-points ; when turned 
forwards, they also push forwards the fulcrum and the 
mentum, so as to overtop considerably the basal por- 
tidp Of the maxillee (as shown’ Figs. 1, 2); when turned 
backwards, they also draw backwards the parts inserted 
in them, and the mentum is now enclosed by the basal 
portion of the maxill (as'shown in Fig. 4). In this position 
* C. Vogt, Zool. Briefe i, p. 678. 
+ Grundziige der Zoologiey 1866, p. 323- 
the terminal portions of the two maxilla, the amine (da) 
appearing as two flattened, lanceolate, horny pieces with 
a central rib, form a sheath to thé tongue enclosing it 
from above, whilst at the same time the two first joints of 
the labial palpi enclose it from beneath. The maxillary 
palpi (mp) exist in the motth of’ typical bees only as 
atrophied useless organs. ; . 
Besides the two foldings hitherto explained, two other 
foldings are to be mentioned. * First, the whole apparatus 
hitherto described is inserted in the terminal points of two 
long, horny ridges enclosed in the excavation of the head 
and moveable round their food-points (/, /ora, of Kirby). 
When turned forwards, the lora push forward to twice their 
own length the maxilla and Re menfum, with all their 
appendages ; when turned’ backwar' } they draw them 
backwards the same distance. Secbndly, when all three 
withdrawals hitherto mentioned—(1} of the base of the 
tongue, (2) of the cardines, (3) of the lora—are effected, 
the mentum lies, defended on each side by the basal por- 
tion of the maxillze (s¢), enclosed in the excavation of the 
under-side of the head ; only the tongue sheathed by the 
lominee and the labial palpi overtop the head, and pre- 
vent the jaws from being used ; but all these overtopping 
parts are bent downwards and backward very easily ; and 
now the jaws or mandibude (md) are not prevented from 
being employed, 
