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 CHAPTER XVII

THE ANATOMY OF THE HONEY-BEE

discussion of the anatomy of the honey-bee does not fall within the scope of this book; for such a discussion, special works on insect anatomy must be consulted. But there are certain of the more general features of the structure of the bee which the bee-keeper should know; and a discussion of these, merits a place even in an elementary book on bee-keeping.

In treating of insect anatomy it is customary to divide the subject into two parts: first, external anatomy, which treats of the structure of the body-wall; and, second, internal anatomy, which treats of the parts found inside the body-wall.

The body-wall.—Insects differ fundamentally from man and other backboned animals. With us, the muscles and other soft parts are supported by an internal skeleton; with the insects the body-wall, that part which corresponds to our skin, is hard and serves as a skeleton. In some respects this is a better arrangement than that which obtains with us, for the skeleton of an insect serves as an armour to protect the body as well as a support for the soft parts.