THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 117 



pieces; they exhibit at one and the same time a basket, a 

 brush, and a pair of pincers. One of the articles indeed 

 is a brush of extreme fineness, the hairs of which, arranged 

 in symmetrical rows, are only to be seen with the micro- 

 scope; with this brush, of fairy delicacy, the bee contin- 

 ually brushes her velvet robe to remove the pollen dust 

 with which it becomes loaded whilst she is rifling the 

 flowers and sucking up the nectar. Another article, which 

 is hollowed like a sf)oon, receives all the gleanings which 

 the insect carries to the hive: it is a pannier for pro- 

 visions. Finally, by opening them one upon another, 

 by means of a hinge, those two pieces become a pair of 

 pincers, which render important service in the construc- 

 tion of the combs, and it is with them that the bee lays 



G2. Brush and Pincers of the Common Bee. 



hold of the semicircles of wax below its abdomen, and 

 carries them to its mouth. 



In some aquatic insects each foot is transformed into a 

 delicate oar, as is seen in the Dytiscus, in which it is flat- 

 tened out and bordered with cilite, so that a larger surface 

 may strike the water. Others, like the flies, have at the 

 extremities of their members a kind of small notched 

 lamellce, which allow them to adhere to glass and the most 

 polished bodies. 



How rugged and coarse the works of man appear by 

 the side of those of nature! Compare the instruments 

 which the insect uses for its Avork with those which we 



