THORAX AND LEGS. 127 



claws catch (as at c), and the pulvillus is altogether 

 saved from any contact ; but if the surface be smooth, 

 so that the claws get no grip, they slide back, and 

 are drawn beneath the foot (as at A), which change 

 of position applies the pulvillus, so that it imme- 

 diately clings. It is the character of the surface, 

 then, and not the will of the bee, that determines 

 whether claw or pulvillus shall be used in sustaining 

 it. But another contrivance, equally beautiful, remains 

 to be noticed. The pulvillus is carried folded in the 

 middle (as at C, Fig. 25), but opens out when applied 

 to a surface, for it has at its upper part an elastic 

 and curved rod [cr, Figs. 25 and 26), which straightens 

 as the pulvillus is pressed down ; C and D, Fig. 26, 

 making this clear. The flattened-out pulvillus thus 

 holds strongly while pulled, by the weight of the bee, 

 along the surface, to which it adheres, but comes up 

 at once if lifted and rolled off from its opposite sides, 

 just as we should peel a wet postage stamp from an 

 envelope. The bee, then, is held securely till it 

 attempts to lift the leg, when it is freed at once ; 

 and, by this exquisite yet simple plan, it can fix and 

 release each foot at least twenty times per second. 

 Space compels us to dismiss this part of an inviting 

 theme for the consideration of the legs as tool-bearers, 

 beginning with the front pair of those of the worker 

 (C, Plate V.). The pollen-gathering hairs, and the 

 soft skin, to admit of flexion between femur and 

 tibia, at once strike us ; while, upon the front of the 

 latter joint, we note a mass of close-set, soft hairs 

 (3), acting as a brush for sweeping the surfaces 

 which the coarser hairs have combed or scraped, and 



