p. 749 | A Bee's Working Tools

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 9, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 47.

A Bee's Working Tools.

An investigator into the mysteries of animal life asserts that a bee's working tools comprise a variety equal to that of the average mechanic. He says that the feet of the common working bee exhibit the combination of a basket, a brush, and a pair of pincers. The brush, the hairs of which are arranged in symmetrical rows, is only to be seen with the microscope. With this brush of fairy delicacy the bee brushes its velvet robe to remove the pollen dust with which it becomes loaded while sucking up the nectar. Another article, hollowed like a spoon, receives all the gleanings which the insect carries to the hive. Finally, by opening them one upon another by means of a hinge, these two pieces become a pair of pincers which render important service in the construction of the comb.—Sel.