26 PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 
be kept up without fatigue. It is well known that the more 
rapid the vibrations, the higher the pitch. 
62. Digestive Apparatus.—The honey obtained from 
the blossoms, after mixing with the saliva (41), and passing 
through the mouth and the esophagus, is conveyed into the 
honey-sack. 
63. This organ, located in the abdomen, is not larger than 
a very small pea, and so perfectly transparent as to appear, 
when filled, of the same color as its contents; it is prop- 
erly the first stomach, and is surrounded by muscles which 
enable the bee to compress 
it, and empty its contents 
through her proboscis into 
the cells. She can also, 
at will, keep a supply, to 
be digested, at leisure, 
when leaving with a 
swarm, (418), or while 
in the cluster during the 
cold of winter (620), and 
use it only as fast as nec- 
essary. For this purpose, 
the honey-sack is supplied 
at its lower extremity, in- 
side, with a round ball, 
which Burmeister has 
called the stomach-mouth, 
DIGESTING APPARATUS. ad wien ies Been ee 
(Magnified. From Maurice Girara.) _ “#fully described by Schie- 
a, tongue; , esophagus:¢,honey-sack; eNZ (1883). It opens 
d, stomach; e, malpighian tubes; f,emall by a complex valve and 
intestine; g, large intestine. connects the honey-sack 
with the digesting-stomach, through a tube or canal, pro- 
jecting inside the latter. This canal is lined with hairs point- 
ing downward, which prevent the solid food, such as pollen 
Fig. 15. 
