132 Anatomy of Bee’s Sting. 
nify the most beautifully wrought steel instrument, it looks 
rough and unfinished; while the parts of the sting, however 
highly magnified, are smooth and perfect. The true rela- 
tion of the three parts of the sting was accurately described 
by Mr.J.R. Bledsoe, in the American Bee Fournal, vol. 6, 
page 29. The action in stinging and the method of extrud- 
ing the poison, are well described in a beautifully illustrated 
article by Mr. J. D. Hyatt, in Vol. 1, No. 1, of American 
Quarterly Microscopical Fournal. The larger of the 
three awls (Fig. 51, A) usually, though incorrectly, styled 
a sheath, has a large cylindrical reservoir at its base (Fig. 
51, S) which is entirely shut off from the hollow (Fig. 
51, 4) in the more slender part of the awl, which latter 
serves no purpose whatever, except to give strength and 
lightness. Three pairs of minute barbs (Fig. 51) project 
like the barbs on a fish-hook, from the end of this awl. 
The reservoir connects at its base with the poison sac 
and below, by a slit, with the opening (Fig. 51, V) made 
by the approximation of the three awls. The other two 
awls (Fig. 51, B, 8), which we will call lancets, are also 
hollow (Fig. 51, 7, 7). They are barbed (Fig. 51, U, V) 
much like a fish-hook, except that there are eight or ten 
barbs, instead of one. Five of the barbs are large and 
strong. These barbs catch hold and cause the extraction of 
the sting when the organ is used. Near the base of each 
lancet is a beautiful valvular organ (Fig. 51, 4, &.) Mr. 
Hyatt thought these acted like a hydraulic ram, and by 
suddenly stopping the current forced the poison through 
the hollow lancets. It seems more probable that the view 
of Mr. T. G. Bryant (Hardwick’s Science Gossip, 1875(, 
is the more correct one. He suggests that these are really 
suction valves, pistons so to speak, which as the piston rods 
—the lancets—push out, suck the poison from the sacs. 
Strange that Mr. Cheshire should claim this view as origi- 
nal, The hollow inside each lancet (Fig. 51, 7, 7), unlike 
that of the awl, is useful. It opens anteriorly in front of 
the first six barbs (Fig. 51, 0, 0), as shown by Mr. Hyatt, 
and posteriorly just back of the valves into the central tube 
(Fig. 51, 4), and through it into the reservoir (Fig. 51, 
S'). The poison then can pass either through the hollow 
