160 THE HONEY-BEE. 



the condition of the colony. The drone of A. melKfica is much 

 shorter than the queen, and more robust. When flying, the 

 drone produces a loud buzzing noise. The eyes meet above 

 (holoptic), whereas in the queen and worker they are separate. 

 'No sting is developed, nor pollen-basket. Drones hatch from 

 unfecundated eggs, but queens and workers from fecundated 

 ones. "Workers often lay eggs, which invariably turn to 

 drones (parthenogenesis). The workers are abortive females, 

 and vary from 15,000 to 45,000 in each colony; whilst A. 

 indica, as mentioned before, may number 80,000 in one colony, 

 when fully stocked. The maxillae (iig. 70, mx) and labium are 

 much elongated, the latter deeply grooved and joined to the 

 head by two rods {cardinales), ca. The sides of the maxUlse 

 (lacinise) (te) are stiff, and form a tube connected with the 

 oral orifice ; the labium is long, and united to the maxillae by 

 the submentum and two rods. From the mentum proceeds the 

 lingua or tongue (Z«), labial palps (Ip), and paraglossse. The 

 tongue is hairy, and consists of a ringed sheath, slit beneath. 

 Within the tongue is a rod which extends beyond its tip, also 

 cleft ventrally. When not in use, these mouth-parts are bent 

 under the head. The jaws or mandibles (m) are strong, and are 

 used for cutting comb and kneading up the wax. Another 

 structure of interest on the worker is the "pollen-basket" on 

 the hind-legs,. in which the pollen is amalgamated, then collected 

 by the bee's mouth, and transferred to the four anterior legs, to 

 be taken to the hive. This structure is a deep cavity on the 

 outside of the posterior tibia and first tarsal joint, with a rim of 

 hairs. Workers all possess a sting, which is straight. The 

 poison' ejected with the sting is an acid fluid secreted by two 

 coiled glands {P.g), and is stored up in a small sac {P.s). This 

 poison-bag is connected with the sting by a tube. The piercing 

 organ consists of three needle-like points : one is larger than 

 the others, and this large style (s) has a reservoir at its base 

 where poison is stored up. The two smaller lancets are hollow, 

 and are barbed with eight to ten barbs, which hold and cause 



