152 THE LORE OF THE HONEY-BEE 



stripped off. But each foot is capable of attaching 

 and detaching itself independently of its fellows. 

 In this case the stripping is accomplished by down- 

 ward pressure of the claws of the same foot. 



On each of her fore-legs the bee has an ap- 

 pliance which fulfils a very important office. It 

 is a semicircular notch with a fringe of strong 

 hairs, and when the leg is bent up, this notch 

 engages with a curious projection on the next 

 upper joint, forming an eyelet roughly circular in 

 shape. With this exact and special tool she cleans 

 her antennae, and this is done at short intervals 

 throughout the whole active time of her life, much 

 as, in the operation of winking, the human eye is 

 kept cleansed. The tongue also is freed from 

 adhering grains of pollen by this device. 



The question, How does a bee gather the 

 flower-juices to make her honey ? is met by certain 

 popular naturalists with the assurance that she 

 sucks them through a tube. This is so easy a 

 generalisation that it amounts very nearly to posi- 

 tive error. The tongue of the bee is not a tube, 

 as the word is usually understood. And she laps 

 up the nectar as often as she sucks it. It depends 

 entirely on the quantity to be dealt with ; and a 

 little careful dissection of the mouth-parts of the 

 bee, by means of the microscope and a pair of long 

 needles, will soon make the whole matter clear. 



She is no beauty — the honey-bee, seen at such 

 close quarters ; unending toil, and a perverted, 



