256 
TRANSFORMATIONS OF INSECTS. 
are sucked and digested by the bees are to a great extent trans- 
formed into wax, which is to all intents and purposes a sort 
of fat. 
The hind legs of the bees are so important to them in every- 
thing relating to the larvae that it is necessary to notice them 
briefly. They are very wonderful implements. The leg is much 
enlarged near its farther end, and resembles a long triangle in 
outline; a set of sharp points or many strong spines, which are 
regularly distributed, form a kind of rake towards the extremity, 
and this implement enables the bee to seize the waxy plates that 
UNDER SURFACE OF A BEE, SHOWING THE WAX BETWEEN THE SEGMENTS. 
are between its abdominal segments. The first joint of the tarsus 
or foot succeeds the leg and attains a great size, when compared 
with that of the other members of the structure. Being articulated 
with or jointed to the leg by its internal angle, the free external 
portion forms, with the leg, a true pair of pincers ; moreover, two 
small spines render the arrangement all the more perfect. This 
joint is square in outline, and is perfectly smooth on the outside, 
whilst it is furnished on the inside with many transverse sets of stiff 
hairs of equal size. The limb acts capitally as a trowel and as a 
brush. The fertile female, which never works, has the traces of 
this arrangement, and the males also ; but neither of them has the 
pinching and brushing structures. These are restricted to the 
workers. The fore legs have a deep notch in the first joint of the 
