40 THE APIARY. 



had not only a disagreeable but a poisonous tendency to 

 man, shows that it is quite possible, where such poisonous 

 plants abound, for the bees to extract the juices without 

 any injury to themselves. 



The se'nse of smell, so largely possessed by bees, is 

 extremely serviceable to them. Attracted by the fra- 

 grance of flowers, bees may be seen winging their way 

 a considerable distance in an undeviating course, even 

 sometimes in the face of weather which one might h^ve 

 thought they would not have braved. 



The thorax or chest approaches in figure to a sphere, 

 and is united to the head by a thread-like ligament. 

 This is the centre of the organs of motion. Here are 

 attached both the muscles that move the legs and wings, 

 and the legs and wings themselves. 



In Plate II., fig. i, b, b, b, show the muscles that move 

 the wings ; e, e, the bases of the wings. 



The wings consist of two pairs of unequal size, which 

 are hooked to one another. In Plate I., fig. a, will be seen 

 the margins of the two wdngs. In fig. b are the eighteen 

 or twenty hooks placed on the anterior margin of 

 the hinder wing, whilst the posterior margin of the 

 fore wing is beautifully folded over to receive them, 

 so that, when distended for flying, the two wings on 

 each side act as one to steady their movements in 

 flight. 



The bee has six legs, three on either side. Each 

 leg is composed of several joints, having articulations. 



