20 



PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 



joints. It is easily understood that if the tongue were a tube, 

 the pollen grains wlien conveyed through it would obstruct 

 it, especially' when daubed with very thick hone}'. 



4S. "A most beautiful adaptation here becomes evident. 

 Nectar satliered from blossoms needs conversion into honey. Its 

 cane sugar must be changed into grape sufiar, and this is accom- 

 plished by the admixture of the salivary sccrr'tions of Systems 

 Nos. 2 and 3 {sd, 2^ S, fig. 6), 

 either one or both. The 

 tongue is drawn into the 

 mentum by the shortening 

 of the retractor lingus6 mus- 

 cle, which, as it contracts, 

 diminishes the space above 

 the salivary valve, and so 

 pumps out the saliva, which 

 mixes with the nectar as it 

 rises, by methods we now 

 understand. Bees, it has 

 often been observed, feed on 

 thick syrup slowly ; the 

 reason is simple. The thick 

 syrup will not pass readily 

 through minute passages 

 without thinning by a fluid. 

 This fluid is saliva, which is 

 demanded In larger quanti- 

 ties than the poor bees can 



supply. They are able, how- 'S- ii. 



ever, to yield'it in surprising tongue and ai-i>eni>.u;ios. 



volume, which also explains (Magniflod. From Maurice Girard.) 



how it is that these little "■ t™ff"ei ''. labial palpi; ,•, maxiUa. 

 marvels can so well clean themselves from the sticky body honey. 

 The saliva Is to them both soap and water, and the tongue and 

 surrounding parts, after any amount of daubing, will soon shine 

 with the lustre of a mirror."— (Cheshire.) 



49. The length of the tongue of the honey-bee is of great 

 importance to bee-keepers. Some flowers, such as red clo- 

 ver, have a corolla so deep, that few bees are able to gather 

 the honey produced in them. Therefore, one of the chief 



