■34 . TItE APIARY. 



feaiher-shaped, consisting of a stem and branches some- 

 what analogous to the feathers of birds. This form is 

 extremely serviceable to the insect, when revelling in the 

 corolla of flowers, to collect the farina, and, besides thus 

 useful, is peculiarly adapted for retaining animal heat.* 

 The insect is divided into three parts — the head, the 

 thorax or chest, and the abdomen. 



The head of the queen (Plate I., fig. i f), as also that 

 of the drone (Plate I., fig. 3 f), is rounder than that of 

 the worker-bee. The latter (Plate I, fig. 2 c) is of a 

 triangular shape, and much flattened, as in Plate I., 

 fig. 2* c, which shows the side view. In common with 

 other creatures, the head contains the inlet for nutrition, 

 and is the seat of the principal organs of sensation. 



In the figures before alluded to may be seen the 

 double visual apparatus with which bees are provided. 

 The oval divisions on each side of the head are the two 

 eyes, the secondary organs of vision being the three small 

 eyes on the top of the head, called the ocelli. We shall 

 first describe the two larger eyes, which, as seems to be 

 the case with all insects, are immovable, and have neither 

 irides nor pupils, nor eyelids to cover them, but are pro- 

 tected from the dust or pollen of flowers by a number of 

 small hairs, as well as by a homy tunicle, which defends 

 and secures them from injury. The multitude of hexa- 

 gonal lenses which compose the eye of a bee make it 



* " Naturalist's Library." 



