The Nervous System and the Senses 165 
and metathoracic segments (with the corresponding two 
pairs of legs and wings) and the first abdominal segment, 
which is fused with the thorax in the bee, as well as the first 
segment of the abdomen behind the constriction. It should 
be noted that nerves (W2Nv and WSNv) run to the bases of 
the wings to innervate sense organs (p. 170). 
In the abdomen are five ganglia ( 3-7Gng ) which send nerve 
branches to the remaining abdominal segments. The third 
and fourth ganglia lie one segment in front of the segments 
which they innervate while the remaining ones are in their 
own segments, the last ( 7Gng ) supplying the remaining 
posterior segments of the abdomen, it therefore being ac¬ 
tually a fusion of four ganglia. 
The action of the nervous elements remains a matter 
chiefly of conjecture. These cells have lost their contractility 
and probably never regenerate nor divide in the adult bee. 
Their function is obviously important, for if this system is 
injured the coordination of the body is destroyed. However, 
the cutting of the nerve cord does not cause death and even 
if the thorax and abdomen are entirely separated the parts 
may function independently. If the head is removed, the 
animal can still walk and if the abdomen is removed it can 
still take in food. These facts indicate that the nervous 
control of the body is not centralized in the brain as com¬ 
pletely as in man and in many other animals. Proper 
correlation of movement cannot, however, take place unless 
the nervous connections are intact. 
SENSE ORGANS 
So little is known of the structure and function of the sense 
organs of bees that this subject must be discussed with 
caution. We know that the simple and compound eyes 
are the organs of sight and recently it has been found where 
the organs of smell are located. Beyond this is a vast field 
for investigation and a fertile field for speculation. 
