A ROMANCE OF ANATOMY 155 
fallacy. Probanty there is always some light, even 
in the remotest recesses of the hive—enough, at 
least, for the eyes of the bee, if. not for our own 
vision. 
The bee, however, would seem to depend very 
little on sight alone in the prosecution of her 
various tasks. There is little doubt that she 
possesses all the other four senses in a marked 
degree. Both the tongue and the lips have 
certain highly developed structures upon them 
which can be nothing else than organs of taste ; 
while the most superficial acquaintance with the 
life of the hive must convince anyone that the bee 
possesses the senses of smell and hearing, and 
that very acutely. Where the seat of these two 
faculties lies is at present doubtful, and the exact 
functions of the antennz are still a matter of 
conjecture. But it is at least certain that these 
latter perform vital office in every act or enterprise 
of the bee. It is obvious that the antenne are 
very delicate organs of touch, but it is equally 
obvious that they are much more than this. It 
has been ascertained that they carry no less than 
six totally different kinds of instruments, each of 
which must have its distinct use. 
Observation of the ways of the honey-bee has 
been carried on for thousands of years. More books 
have been written about the bee than perhaps of all 
other creatures put together. And yet our know- 
ledge of her powers and organisation must still 
