The Sting 



95 



It is this many-jointed abdomen with its flexibility, allow- 

 ing movement in every direction, that makes the sting 

 such an exceedingly effective 

 weapon, the bee being able to 

 twist its abdomen about and 

 plunge its convenient dagger 

 where it pleases. 



Hidden within the hinder- 

 most rings of the abdomen is 

 the sting, which is not at all 

 what it seems, for it appears 

 to the naked eye as a smooth, 

 slightly curved needle point, 

 while in reality it is a complex 

 and cruel weapon armed with 

 lances and conveying a virulent poison. 



When the bee desires to inflict a sting the spot is first 

 investigated by a pair of delicate feelers {F) placed just 

 behind the sting and pretty enough, one would think, to 



be put to a pleasanter use. 

 These little feelers work with 

 lightning- hke rapidity, and 

 when a spot has been selected 

 the sting {S) is thrust home, all 

 in the twinkling of an eye. 



The sting, like the bee's 

 tongue, is not a simple tube, 

 but is composed of several 

 parts. With a good deal of 

 care these parts can be sepa- 

 rated and there is found to be 

 an inner sheath bearing a 

 groove along its under side, and into this groove are ac- 

 curately fitted two lances. The sheath is large at the top 



