184 BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 



arm its possessor, it is also probably helpful in the 

 deposition of eggs. Anatomically, it is analogous to 

 the boring ovipositor of the saw, gall, and ichneumon 

 flies, insects belonging to the same order as the 

 bee. Whilst the ichneumon deposits her eggs in the 

 soft bodies of other insects (which must, of course, 

 first be pierced by her sharp ovipositor), the saw 

 and gall flies have really to cut, by means of rasping 

 teeth, an aperture into leaves, buds, or even timber, 

 so that the eggs may be inserted, together with a 

 droplet of fluid which has a peculiarly irritating 

 effect upon the vegetable tissues, occasioning the pro- 

 duction of the galls, which are new growths, that 

 serve not only to protect the larvae the eggs furnish, 

 but also to afford them nutriment. When we call to 

 mind the strange piercing power of the sting, and its 

 venomous effect, we shall have no difficulty in accept- 

 ing the statement that the difference between the sting 

 and the ovipositor is rather that of function than struc- 

 ture ; they are both situated at the posterior region of 

 the abdominal cavity, the latter being usually carried 

 in a prominent position, whilst the former is always 

 hidden when in repose. Let us now consider the 

 mechanism by which the worker bee forms the wound 

 when she strikes. 



The piercing apparatus consists of three main 

 portions — a so-called sheath and two darts. The 

 former (sh, A, Plate VI., and side view, E, Plate VII.) 

 is a dark brown and strong chitinous piece,, laro-e and 

 pouch-like at the upper, but narrow T ed and flattened 

 considerably at the lower part, where it terminates 

 in an extremely thin cutting edge, which is the 



