The Behavior of the Honey Bee in Pollen CollectingCasteel, Dana Brackenridge
Science
The Behavior of the Honey Bee in Pollen Collecting
Casteel, Dana Brackenridge
Honeybee -- Behavior; Pollen
Of these two classes the branched hairs are the more numerous. They
make up the hairy coat of the head, thorax, and abdomen, with the
exception of short sensory spines, as those found upon the antennæ and
perhaps elsewhere, and the stiff unbranched hairs which cover the
surfaces of the compound eyes (Phillips, 1905). Branched hairs are
also found upon the legs; more particularly upon the more proximal
segments. A typical branched hair is composed of a long slender main
axis from which spring numerous short lateral barbs. Grains of pollen
are caught and held in the angles between the axis and the barbs and
between the barbs of contiguous hairs. The hairy covering of the body
and legs thus serves as a collecting surface upon which pollen grains
are temporarily retained and from which they are later removed by the
combing action of the brushes of the legs. Although, as above noted,
some unbranched hairs are located upon the body of the bee, they occur
in greatest numbers upon the more distal segments of the appendages.
They are quite diverse in form, some being extremely long and slender,
such as those which curve over the pollen baskets, others being stout
and stiff, as those which form the collecting brushes and the pecten
spines.
The mouthparts of the bee are also essential to the proper collection
of pollen. The mandibles are used to scrape over the anthers of
flowers, and considerable pollen adheres to them and is later removed.
The same is true of the maxillæ and tongue. From the mouth comes the
fluid by which the pollen grains are moistened.
The legs of the worker bee are especially adapted for pollen
gathering. Each leg bears a collecting brush, composed of stiff,
unbranched hairs set closely together. These brushes are located upon
the first or most proximal tarsal segment of the legs, known
technically as the palmæ of the forelegs and as the plantæ of the
middle and hind pair. The brush of the foreleg is elongated and of
slight width (fig. 1), that of the middle leg broad and flat (fig. 2),
while the brush upon the planta of the hind leg is the broadest of
all, and is also the most highly specialized. In addition to these
well-marked brushes, the distal ends of the tibiæ of the fore and
middle legs bear many stiff hairs, which function as pollen
collectors, and the distal tarsal joints of all legs bear similar
structures.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Left foreleg of a worker bee. (Original.)]
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