78 



The Honey-Makers 



The bee is also frequently seen with one of its middle 

 legs doubled under it, in the act of rubbing the pollen from 

 the hairs of the breast. 



The last or third pair of legs is perhaps the most curious 

 and interesting of all. 



Upon them are the baskets for storing and carrying 

 home the pollen ; these are borne 

 by all the workers but not by the 

 queen and drones. 



The pollen-basket, or corbiculura, 

 is the hollowed outer side of the 

 tibia bordered by stiff hairs. The 

 hairs along the edges curve in, thus 

 forming the sides of the " basket " 

 and preventing the contents from 

 falling out. Every one has noticed 

 the " honeyed thigh " of the bee, as 

 laden with yellow, white, red, or 

 brown pollen it scrambles over the 

 flowers adding to the load. 



In order to bring its branched 

 hairs in contact with the pollen 

 grains the bee rushes about over a 

 bed of flowers as if looking for 

 something it had lost, scampering 

 back and forth and turning about 

 in a dazed manner. 

 When on a single flower it gathers the pollen from the 

 anthers with the legs, scraping them back and forth against 

 each other to good purpose as the rapidly enlarging ball 

 of pollen on the " thigh '' proves. The pollen is made 

 suiificiently adhesive by being occasionally moistened with 

 honey. 



Sometimes bees gather honey and pollen at the same 



Outside of tliird leg on 

 right side. Doited 

 lines represent load 

 of pollen. 



