The Bee's Tongue 



21 



In fact, the bee's proboscis is not a tube 

 at all, though it can perform the office of 

 one at need. A closed tube would be an 

 inadequate and clumsy possession to a 

 bee, as it could not lick up nectar so 

 quickly and could not free its proboscis 

 without great loss of time in case that in- 

 strument became clogged. 



Any one who has watched a bumble-bee 

 disengage a bit of honey-comb or other 

 foreign substance that had become wedged 

 in its proboscis will appreciate the advan- 

 tages of an organ that can, so to speak, be 

 taken quickly apart and cleared out. 



The proboscis lies behind the upper lip 

 and is formed of the tongue, the lower 

 lip, and two side pieces called maxillae. 

 These organs are common to all insects, 

 but in the bees are modified to form a 

 long nectar-gathering instrument. 



The two maxillae {M, M) together form the sharp-pointed 

 dagger-like organ which the bee first 

 lets down. They are horny in sub- 

 stance and are two-jointed. They 

 can readily be separated from each 

 other as shown in the illustration, 

 though normally they lie side by side, 

 the thin inner edges of their lower 

 joints (2,2) overlapping above the 

 tongue and forming the top of the 

 proboscis. 



They are hollowed within, thus 

 forming an arched roof to the pro- 

 boscis, "but as they do not meet un- 

 derneath, they fail to form a perfect tube. 



