I 8 The Honey-Makers 



Offer a captive bee a fresh white clover-head, and of a 

 sudden, apparently from nowhere, there appears a long 

 brown tongue that at once finds its way into the clover 

 nectaries, appearing and disappearing in the most aston- 

 ishing manner as the bee crawls over the head of flowers. 



One watching this rapid tongue and trying to make out 

 whence it comes and whither it goes is reminded of the 

 peaman's game of " Now you see it, and now you don't." 



The truth is, it is not easily observable excepting when 

 in use. At other times, it is kept discreetly folded back 

 beneath the head, where it fits into the space between the 

 head and thorax, and offers a satisfactory explanation for 

 the peculiar manner in which these 

 \ if^ ^^ ^^^° divisions of the body are at- 

 tached to each other. The head is 

 fastened near its upper edge to the thorax by its slender 

 "neck," and were it otherwise, vv^ere the attachment more 

 generous in size or lower down, when the bee folded back 

 the sharp-pointed " tongue " it would be in danger of cut- 

 ting its own throat, which would be inconvenient, to say the 

 least ! 



When a bee is about to produce its tongue it first opens 

 its jaws, which are where one would expect to find jaws, at 

 the lower margin of the face. 



When the bee is at rest, one looking 

 it full in the face would get no hint of 

 a tongue, seeing only these tightly closed 

 jaws {J, J) and above them the upper 

 lip {L), the lower edge of which is bor- 

 dered with a row of short, stiff hairs, 

 which are sensitive and act as feelers. 



Disturb the bee a little and open fly 

 the jaws, not to accommodate the tongue this time, but 

 evidently to strike terror to the heart of the intruder. 



