72 The Honey-Makers 



distances by means of her legs, and who, unhke the spider, 

 the daddy-long-legs, and other long-legged folk, has no 

 necessity for leg speed. 



The usual gait of the bee is a rather slow walk, and when 

 she runs she usually evokes the aid of the wings, as the hen 

 does when she attempts to run. 



A bee does not jump much excepting when frightened 

 or angry — then she goes along by little hops that make 

 her ladyship appear rather ridiculous — as angry folk are 

 wont to appear. If a captive bee is annoyed by a pencil 

 placed in front of her to cause her to go in a certain direc- 

 tion, instead of travelhng as desired, she will often jump at 

 the pencil with open jaws, and give it a good biting for 

 troubling her. She seems to know there is no use in sting- 

 ing a senseless thing like a pencil, and does not make the 

 slightest attempt to do so. Try to persuade her to change 

 her course against her will with the end of your finger, 

 however, and you will soon discover whether she knows 

 the difference between that and a pencil. 



The ''foot" of the bee, being extremely flexible, enables 

 its owner to gather flower-petals in her grasp, so to speak, 

 and to curl her foot about the edge of a stalk or a cell of 

 honey-comb. The final joint is particularly movable, and 

 consists of two pairs of curved and pointed hooks, or 

 " toes," a tuft of long, strong hairs between them, and a 

 curious, soft, and flexible disk X, also lying between the 

 pairs of hooks, and enabling the bee to climb upon smooth 

 and upright surfaces. 



This little white disk can be seen with the naked eye 

 when the bee is ascending a window-pane, and hke the 

 foot of the fly it exudes a liquid that enables the owner to 

 cling to the glass. 



By a certain motion of the foot the disk is peeled up 

 and the bee freed. 



