The thorax of the bee is divided into three sections, or imperfect rings. Of these, that nearest the head is called the _pro_-thorax, the middle one the _meso_-thorax, and the hindmost the _meta_-thorax. To the first of these are attached the most forward pair of legs; to the second, another pair of legs and one pair of wings; to the third, the last pair of legs and the other pair of wings. These organs of locomotion constitute, in fact, all that is worthy of special interest in this segment of the body, and we will, therefore, give a short account of them. The legs of all insects consist of five parts, or joints, and in the case of the bee they are not only the means of walking or crawling, but, like some of the head organs of which we have spoken, serve several purposes. The first of the leg-segments is called the _coxa_, or hip, and is short and round, appearing, indeed, to be little more than the joint by which the limb is articulated to the body. The second is named the _trochanter_, and is very similar to the _coxa_. One purpose effected by these two portions is to give great freedom of motion to the whole member. Next comes the _femur_, or thigh, a longer and flatter division. This is followed by the _tibia_, or shank, a stouter and thicker division, which, especially in the hind-legs, becomes gradually wider downwards, and in the workers is adapted to a very special use, as we shall directly see. Then in succession we have the _tarsus_, or foot, consisting of five joints, the first very much stouter than the rest, and as long as the remaining four. It is terminated by a pair of hooked claws, with a cushion or _pulvillus_. [Illustration: Fig. 28.--Lower Segments of Hind-Leg of Bee, Considerably Enlarged.] [Illustration: Fig. 29.--Complete Hind-leg Of Bee.] We have already spoken of the remarkable apparatus found in the in the hind legs, adapted to the purpose of cleansing the antennæ. At the junction of the fourth and fifth segments (the _tibia_ and the _tarsus_) of the hind leg of a worker a cavity is formed by the uppermost edge of the latter and the lower of the former. The cavity can be opened or closed at the will of the insect. Above this, on the outside of the tibia, is a pocket, or pollen-basket, lined along its upper edge with a row of lancet-shaped hairs, which aid in detaining the tiny balls of pollen, as they are successively deposited on the leg. Like a series of prong-tines, they can be pressed into the yielding bee-bread, and keep it from falling off; while, as _they point downwards_, they present no obstacle to the brushing off of the whole mass by the bee, on its return to the hive. The slight hollowing of the _tibia_ and the _tarsus_ at the approximating ends, affords more space for the gathered pollen, and also assists in its safe carriage to the cells.