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British Bees: An Introduction into the Studies of the Natural History and Economy of the Bees Indigenous to the British Isles — John Shaqi

British Bees: An Introduction into the Studies of the Natural History and Economy of the Bees Indigenous to the British IslesShuckard, William Edward

Science

British Bees: An Introduction into the Studies of the Natural History and Economy of the Bees Indigenous to the British Isles

Name: British Bees: An Introduction into the Studies of the Natural History and Economy of the Bees Indigenous to the British Isles
Author: Shuckard, William Edward

Shuckard, William Edward

Bees; Hymenoptera -- Great Britain

A further confirmation of the non-existence of this orifice has been
given me when, by pressing a tongue towards its origin to compel it to
swell, I have detected the liquid which gave it its extension, but all
my pressing would never make the liquid pass through the extremity,
although the pressure has sometimes made it almost rend the membranes,
to give it an opening to escape by. Having thus passed through the
œsophagus into the stomach, it is then regurgitated into its requisite
repository upon arriving at home.

                               Andrenidæ

    [Illustration: Apidæ.
        Fig. 9.—Mode of folding the tongue in repose. 1. In abnormal
        bee.
        2. In normal bee.
        _a_, point of articulation beneath the hypopharynx:
        _b_, apex of the tongue.]

The entire proboscis, with all its appendages attached, has in the
_Apidæ_ three distinct hinges or articulations, including that which
attaches it by its extreme base to the under surface of the mouth and
lower portion of the head, the cavity of which, when folded, it fills,
and even then the apex of the tongue protrudes in some genera beyond the
sheathing maxillæ. In the _Andrenidæ_ it has but two articulations, and
the maxillæ always cover them entirely in repose. The first
articulation, forming the fulcrum of the whole, is always elbowed in the
_Apidæ_, and consequently not capable, like the rest of the joints, of
full linear extension. The attached diagram will give a clearer
conception of the mode of folding: _a_ is the labium, and _b_ the
tongue.

As we have no complete description of the mode by which the tongue of
the bee is worked, and how it gathers up its honey, I thought it
desirable to be fuller upon the subject than was originally my
intention.

    [Illustration: Fig. 10.—Mandibles:
        1, of leaf-cutter bee (_Megachile_);
        2, of burrower (_Andrena_);
        3, of parasite (_Nomada_).]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

British Bees: An Introduction into the Studies of the Natural History and Economy of the Bees Indigenous to the British Isles

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