32 
ON THE ANATOMY OF 
Tearing open the anthers of the plant on which it 
has alighted, and rolling its little body in the bottom 
of the corolla, the insect rapidly brushes olf the farina, 
moistens it with its mouth, and passes it from one 
pair of legs to another, till it is safely lodged in the 
form of a kidney-shaped pellet in a spoon-like recep- 
tacle in its thigh to be afterwards noticed. These 
hairs deserve to be particularly remarked on account 
of their peculiar formation, being feather-shaped, or 
rather consisting each of a stem with branches dis- 
posed around it, arid, therefore, besides their more 
effectually retaining the animal heat, peculiarly adapted 
for their office of sweeping off the farina. 
The Head, which is of a triangular shape and much 
flattened, isfurnished with a pair of large eyes, (Wood- 
cut, p. 3 1 , Fig. 1, a a,) of what is called by naturalists the 
composite construction, and consisting of a vast assem- 
blage of small hexagonal surfaces, disposed with 
exquisite regularity, each constituting in itself a per- 
fect eye; they are thickly studded with hairs, which 
preserve them from dust, &c. In addition to these 
means of vision, the bee is provided with three small 
stemmata, or coronetted eyes, situated in the very 
crown of the head, and arranged in the form of a 
triangle. These must add considerably to the capa- 
city of vision in an insect whose most important 
operations are carried on in deep obscurity. As to 
the special or peculiar use these ocelli may serve, 
Reaumur and Blumenbach were of opinion, that, 
while the large compound organs are used for viewing 
distant objects, the simple ones are employed on 
