42 THE APIARY. 



them, althoug-h the uppermost bees appear to be 

 drag-ged by the weight of the whole. Wildman sup- 

 posed that bees had a power of distending themselves 

 with air, to acquire buoyancy, and thus lessen the 

 burden of the topmost bees. They find no difficulty 

 in extricating themselves from the mass; the most 

 central of the group can make its way without en- 

 dangering the stability of the grape-like cluster. 



Bees are able to walk freely in an inverted position, 

 either on glass or other slippery substances. The 

 peculiar mechanism of their feet, which enables them 

 to do so, consists in their having in the middle of 

 each hook a thin membranous little cup or sucker 

 that is alternately exhausted and filled with air. Flies 

 have the same beautiful apparatus — hence a fly com- 

 monly selects the ceiling for a resting-place. These 

 little air-cups, or exhausted receivers, may be seen 

 by applying a strong magnifying-glass to a window 

 that has a bee traversing the reverse side. The 

 edges of these little suckers are serrated, so as to close 

 ■ against any kind of surface to which their legs may be 

 applied. This apparatus may be also serviceable for 

 gathering the pollen before transmitting it to the baskets 

 on the hind legs. Besides these appendages and appa- 

 ratus of the thorax, that region is traversed by the 

 oesophagus or gullet (the opening to which will be 

 found in Plate I, fig. 2 c), on its way to the digestive 

 and other organs, situate in the third part of the insect — 



