74 MANUAL OP THE APIARY. 



sunxjunding hairs, which form the pollen baskets of the 

 workers. The queen possesses a sting (Fig. 11, d) which 

 is longer than that of the workers, and resembles that of 

 the bumble-bees in being curved, and that of bumblie-bees 

 and wasps in having few and short barbs — the little projections 

 which point back like the barb of a fish-hook, and which, in 

 ease of the workers, prevent the withdrawing of the instru- 

 ment, when once fairly inserted. While there are seven 

 quite prominent barbs on each shaft of the worker's sting, 

 there are onl.y three on those of the queen, and these are 



Fig. 16. 



r 



'a 



Part of Ley of Queen, magnified. 



t— Tibia. p— Broadened tibia and basal tarsus, 



t s— Tarsal joints. 



very short, and, as in a worker's sting, they are successively 

 shorter as we recede from the point of the weapon. Aristotle 

 says that the queen will seldom use her sting, which I have 

 found true. I have often tried to provoke a queen's anger, 

 but never with any evidence of success. Neighbour (page 14, 

 note) gives three cases where queens used their stings, in one 



