ANATOMY OF TllE 1!EE. 



2:i 



UNDl^R SIl'E OF WOliKlCR DF.E, SHOWI^'G WAX 

 SCALER. 

 (Magnified tbrcc times.) 



37. Abdomen 



Joined to the tho- 

 rax by a short 

 tube (the petiole), 

 is the abdomen 

 (Fir. 7). The 

 worker's is en- 

 closed by six vis- 

 ible rings, or seg- 

 ments of cliitin, 

 each of which is 

 constructed of two 

 plates — the dorsal 

 plates on the back, 

 and tlic ventral 

 plates on tlie lower 

 side. Those shown 

 (Fig. 8) are the 

 ventral plates (10) 

 where the wax 

 scales are found 

 (62). The abdomen of the queen is longer and more pointed 

 than that of either the worker or the drone, but only in the 

 worker are the secreting membranes present on which wax is 

 produced. (Fig. i.) 



38. Honey Sac. — The honey sac (Fig. 7, hs) is situated in the 

 abdomen, and is connected above with the (esophagus, or gullet 

 (cc), running through the thorax to the mouth (58), and 

 below, with the chyle stoiiiaeh (cs), beneath which are the ileum, 

 or small intestine (si) and the large intestine (/() or eolon. 

 Between the honey sac and the chyle stomach is the stomach 

 mouth (p) by which, at the will of the bee, the contents of the 

 honey sac may be admitted to, or excluded from the ch>-le 

 stomach (58). The nectar carried in the honey sac may, by con- 

 traction of the muscles there, be transferred as honey through 

 the oesophagus and mouth to the comb cells, or may be 

 admitted through the stomach mouth to the chyle stomach for 

 digestion. The honey sac can hold one-third of an ordinary 

 drop ; but the usual load of a foraging bee is only one-fifth. 



39. Sting. — The sting (Fig. g. A) consists of a horny sheath (s7i) 

 terminating in a sharp toothed edge, and guiding the lancets, 

 or darts id, d',). The lancets have barbed edges (h, b,) and are 

 connected above, at c c', with the compound levers {i, k, I, and 

 i', h' , V ,) by which the sting may be forced into comparatively 

 tough substances. When the bee is about to sting, the muscles 

 of the compound levers contracting revolve the latter round the 

 points f, f , and, pressing upwards against the curved arms of 



