32 BEHAVIOR OF HONEY BEE IN POLLEN COLLECTING. 
pollen combs of the hind plants, and the plantse, in turn, transfer the 
pollen of one leg to the pecten comb of the other, the pecten of one 
leg scraping downward over the pollen comb of the opposite leg. 
(See fig. 7.) A little pollen is loaded directly from the middle legs 
into the baskets when these legs are used to pat down the pollen 
masses. (See fig. 6.) 
Aside from the foregoing exception, all of the pollen which reaches 
the baskets enters them from below, since it is first secured by the 
pecten combs, and is then pushed upward by the impact of the 
rising auricles, which squeeze it against the distal ends of the tibiae 
and force it on into the baskets to meet that which has gone before. 
The long hairs which form the lateral boundaries of the baskets 
are not used to comb out pollen from the brushes of any of the legs. 
They serve to retain the accumulating masses within the baskets and 
to support the weight of the pollen, as it projects far beyond the 
surfaces of the tibia?. 
Pollen grains are moistened and rendered cohesive by the addition 
to them of fluid substances which come from the mouth. Analyses 
show that honey forms a large part of this moistening fluid, although 
nectar and secretions from the salivary glands are probably present 
also. 
In the process of pollen manipulation this fluid substance becomes 
well distributed over the brushes of all of the legs. The forelegs 
acquire moisture by brushing over the mouthparts, and they transfer 
this to the hairs of the breast and to the middle-leg brushes when 
they come in contact with them. The middle-leg brushes transmit 
their moisture to the pollen combs of the hind legs when they rub 
upon them. All of these brushes also transport wet pollen which 
has come from the mouthparts and thereby acquire additional mois- 
ture. The auricles and the plantse of the hind legs become particu- 
larly wet from this source, since fluid is squeezed from the wet pollen 
when it is compressed between the auricles and the distal ends of the 
tibiae. Dry pollen which falls upon the body hairs becomes moist 
when brought into contact with the wet brushes or with wet pollen. 
During the process of manipulation pollen passes backward from 
its point of contact with the bee toward its resting place within the 
baskets. 
Pollen which the collecting bee carries to the hive is deposited by 
this bee within one of the cells of the comb. As a rule, this pollen is 
securely packed in the cell by some other worker, which flattens out 
the rounded masses and adds more fluid to them. 
