Excerpt from The Behavior of the Honey Bee in Pollen Collecting

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 stifl', as those which form the collecting brushes and the pecten spines.

The mouth parts Of the bee are also essential to the proper col lection of pollen. T h e 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 maxillae 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 gath ering. Each leg bears a collecting brush, composed Of stiff, un branched hairs set closely together. These brushes are located upon the first or most proximal tarsal segment of the legs, known techni cally as the palmae of the forelegs and as the plantae of the middle and hind pair. The brush of the foreleg is elongated and of Slight width (fig. That of the middle leg broad and flat (fig. 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 tibiae 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.

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