28 PRACTICAL ZOOLOGY 



briefly as follows: The first pair of legs (Fig. 12, C) possess 

 the following useful structures. The femur and the tibia 

 (//) are clothed with branched hairs for gathering pollen. From 

 the distal end of the tibia of one of these is the pollen brush (b 

 in C and E), the curved bristles of which are used to brush up 

 the pollen loosened by the coarser spines; on the other side is 

 a flattened movable spine, the velum (?> in C and E), which fits 

 over a curved indentation in the first tarsal joint or metatarsus 

 (p in C). This entire structure is called the antenna cleaner, 

 and the row of teeth (F) which lines the indentation is known as 

 the antenna comb. Figure H shows in sections how the antenna 

 (a) is cleaned by being pulled between the teeth (c) on the meta- 

 tarsus (/) and the edge (s) of the velum (v). On the front of 

 the metatarsus is a row of spines (eb in C), called the eye brush, 

 which is used to brush out any pollen or foreign particles lodged 

 among the hairs on the compound eyes. 



The middle legs (Fig. 12, D) are provided with a pollen brush 

 (b), but, instead of an antenna cleaner, a spur (s) is present at 

 the distal end of the tibia. This spur is used to pry the pollen 

 out of the pollen baskets on the third pair of legs and to clean 

 the wings. 



The last pair of legs (Fig. 12, A and B) possess three very 

 remarkable structures, the pollen basket, the wax pinchers 

 (wp in B), and the pollen combs (at p in B). The pollen basket 

 consists of a concavity in the outer surface of the tibia with rows 

 of curved bristles along the edges (ti in A). By storing pollen 

 in this basketlike structure, it is possible for the bee to spend 

 more time in the field, and to carry a larger load each trip. The 

 pollen basket in cross section is shown in Figure 12, G. The 

 pollen combs (at p in B) serve to fill the pollen baskets by 

 combing out the pollen which has become entangled in the 

 hairs of the thorax, and transferring it to the concavity in the 

 tibia of the opposite leg. At the distal end of the tibia is a row 

 of wide spines; these are opposed by a smooth plate on the prox- 

 imal end of the metatarsus. The term wax pinchers (wp in B) 



