THE MICROSCOPE
By the aid of a wonderful instrument called the Microscope we are able
to learn a good deal about the construction of the different parts of
the bee’s body.
A microscope, as perhaps you already know, is a sort of strong
magnifying glass, being something like a telescope, but on a smaller
scale altogether. You may see an illustration of a microscope in (_a_)
Plate VI. The tube of the microscope is generally about six or eight
inches in length, made of metal and holding two sets of lenses. The
one through which we look is at the top of the tube, and is called the
eyepiece. The lens at the bottom is called the objective, for it is the
lens that is nearest to the object that is to be examined. If you have
a microscope of your own, or know any one who has one, you will be able
to see for yourselves many of the things about which I am going to tell
you. For the sake of convenience the parts of insects to be examined
in the microscope are generally mounted on little slips of glass, and
if you place a dead bee on a piece of glass, you will find that it is
more easily handled in this manner. Some of you, however, may not have
this opportunity, and so I have photographed several different parts
of the bee, by the aid of the microscope, so that you will be able to
understand what you will read about them.
[Illustration: PLATE VI
(_a_)
From a photograph by] [E. Hawks
A Microscope
(_b_)
From a photo-micrograph by] [E. Hawks
Head of Bee]
Just as the telescope has taught its users a great deal about the
stars, which otherwise could not have been known, so too has the
microscope shown us wonders such as we never before thought existed.
Before we consider the habits of the bees, it will be well for us
to examine, and to understand, the various limbs and parts of their
bodies, in order that we may the more easily trace out the manner in
which the little workers accomplish their tasks.