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Mouth-parts of Honey Bee

Mouth-parts of Honey Bee.jpg ThumbnailsChiasognathus Grantii, under sideThumbnailsChiasognathus Grantii, under sideThumbnailsChiasognathus Grantii, under sideThumbnailsChiasognathus Grantii, under sideThumbnailsChiasognathus Grantii, under side

In the Honey Bee nearly all the mouth-parts of the Cockroach are to be made out, though some are small and others extremely produced in length. The mandibles (Mn) are not much altered, and are still used for biting, as well as for kneading wax and other domestic work. The mandibular teeth have proved inconvenient, and are gone. The lacinia of the maxilla (Mx′) forms a broad and flexible blade, used for piercing succulent tissues, but the galea has disappeared, and there is only a vestige of the maxillary palp (Mxp). In the second pair of maxillæ the palp (Lp) is prominent; its base forms a blade, while the tip is still useful as an organ of touch. The paraglossæ (Pa) can be made out, but the laciniæ are fused to form the long, hairy tongue. This ends in a spoon-shaped lobe (not unlike the “finger” of an elephant’s trunk), which is used both for licking and for sucking honey.