THE BEE. 39 



its various occupations. Then, indeed, you will rather 

 be disposed to wonder how so simple an apparatus can 

 be made subservient to such a variety of purposes, as 

 the gathering of honey, the kneading, cutting, mani- 

 pulation and adjustment of wax, the plastering of 

 propolis, the feeding of the young, and many other 

 employments too numerous to be recorded. 



Having thus completed our survey of the organs 

 and appendages situated upon the Bee's head, let us 

 now proceed to the consideration of those upon the 

 thorax or chest. This segment of the body (PI. II. 

 figs. 1, 2, 6) is subdivided into three sections or imper- 

 fect rings, the anterior of which is caUed the pro- 

 thorax, the middle the mesothorax, and the posterior 

 the me^athorax. As stated in a former chapter, the 

 members of locomotion, which are all appended to 

 the chest, consist of three pairs of legs and two 

 pairs of wings; whereof the two anterior legs are 

 situated upon the prothorax ; the middle pair of legs, 

 along with one pair of wings, upon the mesothorax ; 

 and the third, or posterior pairs of legs and wings, 

 are connected with the metathorax. 



The leg of the Bee, like that of all other insects, 

 is composed of five limbs or members, some of which 

 possess features of great interest in relation to the 

 functions that they have to perform ; for you must 

 know that the legs of the Bee serve the insect not 

 only as members of locomotion, but also, as you will 

 see hereafter, ia various other ways connected with 

 its daily pursuits in and out of the hive. 



