234 SUMMAEY OF CUBRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



volume, whioli will include the question of bee diseases. The 

 author certifies that a very large part of his matter is in all respects 

 absolutely new, being the issue of researches, dissections, and experi- 

 ments, which have occupied no inconsiderable fraction of many years 

 of a busy life. 



The first volume deals with the anatomy and physiology of the bee 

 itself, the peculiarities of the sexes, the principles of comb-structure, 

 and the relation of bees to flowering plants. It is divided into 

 sixteen chapters, which treat separately of various structural points 

 (such as the tongue and mouth-parts, the organs of special sense, 

 wings in flight, and organs of the drone), the differences between wild 

 and hive bees, the economy of the latter, the relations of bees to 

 flowers, and their functions as fertilizers, florists, and fruit producers. 

 The illustrations, nearly all of which were drawn by the author, are 

 excellent. Those on the plates deal with the digestive system, the 

 head and tongue, and details of tongue structure, of the eyes, of the 

 legs, of the sting, &c. 



Geometrical Construction of the Cell of the Honey Bee.* — Prof. 

 H. Hennessy gives the following directions for constructing a model 

 of the bee's cell, with the aid of a pair of compasses : — 



1. Inscribe an equilateral triangle in a hexagon ; a side of this 

 triangle is the long diagonal of the lozenge; bisect this, and the 

 diagonal of a square erected on the half is the shorter diagonal of the 

 lozenge. 



2. Draw six parallel lines at distances equal to the side of the 

 hexagon, and a straight line perpendicular to them from the second 

 of the parallel lines ; " inflect a straight line" equal to a side of the 

 lozenge above constructed, and repeat this process until six trapezia 

 are formed. 



3. On folding these trapezia a hexagonal prism is formed, into 

 which three lozenges equal to that constructed will accurately fit, and 

 the entire structure will be completed. 



Labium of Hymenoptera.f — M. J. Chatin shows that the very 

 much modified labium of AntJiophora can be derived from that of the 

 Orthoptera by the comparison of a series of forms, Cimbex, Cynips, 

 Acoenites, Stizus, and Vespa : this last has a labium more nearly like 

 that of the Orthoptera than the former genera. 



Phosphorescence of Luciola italica.:}: — Prof. C. Emery sup- 

 plements his previous research on the luminous organ of Luciola 

 italica by a study of the phenomena in the living insect. When the 

 organ is observed in function, under low power, the eye is at first 

 dazzled, and only a bright yellowish uniform light is seen. The 

 intensity soon diminishes, however, and the luminous area is seen to 

 be interrupted by numerous dark circles regularly disposed. As the 

 brightness continues to decrease light rings are observed round the 

 dark spots, and outside the rings an irregular shade. The bright 



* Proc. Eoy. Soc, xxxix. (1885) pp. 25R and 254. 



t Coraptes Reudus, cii. (1886) p\>. 222-4. 



X Bull. Soe. Entomol. Ital., xviii. (18S5) pp. 351-5 (1 pi.). 



