. Outlines of zoology. Zoology. 296 PERIPATVS, MYRIOPODS, AND INSECTS. The second and third thoracic segments bear each a pair of wings. These are largest in the drones and relatively smallest in the queen, who flies but seldom. At the base of each wing there is a respiratory spiracle. In the adult queen and worker, the abdomen is divided into six segments; in the drone, into seven. There are no abdominal appen- dages. On the ventral surface in the worker, but not in the queen or drone, there are four pairs of wax pockets or glands, which secrete the wax, which, after mastication with saliva,
. Outlines of zoology. Zoology. 296 PERIPATVS, MYRIOPODS, AND INSECTS. The second and third thoracic segments bear each a pair of wings. These are largest in the drones and relatively smallest in the queen, who flies but seldom. At the base of each wing there is a respiratory spiracle. In the adult queen and worker, the abdomen is divided into six segments; in the drone, into seven. There are no abdominal appen- dages. On the ventral surface in the worker, but not in the queen or drone, there are four pairs of wax pockets or glands, which secrete the wax, which, after mastication with saliva, is em- ployed in building the combs. The abdomen also bears in queen and worker five pairs of spiracles, but in the drone, on account of the additional seg- ment, there are six pairs. The total number of spiracles is thus fourteen for queen and worker, and sixteen for the drone. The posterior region of the abdomen bears the complicated sting. In the worker this consists of a hard incomplete sheath, which envelops two barbed darts. The poison flows down a channel lying between the darts and the sheath. Ramifying through the abdomen are found the two slender coiled tubes which con- stitute the poison gland. At the posterior end of the body these unite and open into a large poison sac. When a bee uses its sting, the chitinous sheath first pierces the skin, and then the wound is deepened by the barbed and pointed darts, while at the same time poison is steadily pumped down the channel mentioned above, and pours out by minute openings at the bases of the darts. The poison contains formic acid, and is fatal to the bee if directly introduced into its blood. Associated with the sting there are a pair of delicate tactile palps. In the queen the sting is curved and more powerful, but it is apparently only used in combat with a rival. In the worker the sting, and with it a portion of the gut, is usually lost after use, and, in consequence, death ensues ; the queen, on the other hand, can
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Keywords: ., bookauthorth, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology
