O f the Proboscis oe the Bee, Fig. 3 and 4, Plate XIIP.
The more we penetrate into the hidden receffes and internal
parts o f nature, the more we find it* marked with perfection in
form and. defign. This pofition is fo clearly proved in the little
apparatus we are now about to defcribe, that Swammerdam,*
{peaking o f it, fays, that he cannot refrain from confeffing, to*
the glory o f the knmenfe; and incomprehenfible Architect, that:
he had bnt very, imperfeftly defcribed and reprefented this little
apparatus; for to reprefent it to the life in it’s full perfection, as.
truly moft perfeCl it is,, far, exceeds the utmoft efforts of human»
knowledge..
Soon as the matin glory gild's the fkies,.
Behold the little virtuofi rile- T
Blithe for the tafk, they preen.their early wing,.
And forth to each appointed labour fpring.
Now nature boon exhales, the morning fleam,..
And glows and opens to the welcome beam;;
The vivid tribes amid the fragrance fly,.
And ev’ry.arfr, and ev’iy bufinefs ply,-.
Each chymift now his-fubtle trunk unfheathes, .
Wherefrom the flower the treafur’d odour breathes;
Here ftp the liquid, there feleft the gums
And o’er the bloom with quiv’ring membrane hum*.
Still with judicious fcrutiny they, pry,
Where lodg’d the prime eflential juices lie •,
Each lufcious vegetation wide explore,.
Plunder-the fpring o f every, vital ftore:;
The
* Swam.cperfanj’s Be ok of Nature, p,. 195.
The dainty fuckle, and the fragrant thyme,
By chymical redu&ion, they fublime,
Their fweets with bland attempering fuftion ftrain,
And curious thro’ their neat alembicks drain;
Imbib’d reclufe, the pure fecretions glide,
And vital warmth conco&s A ’ ambrofial tide.
B rooke.
By the probofeis, or trunk, the bee not only procures itfelf
neceffary fubfiftence, but it is alfo employed by the animal to collect
the honey, which we appropriate to ourlelves as if it was
made for us. It may be confidered in a general view as confift-
ing of feven pieces t one o f thefe, i i, b e , Fig. 3, Plate XIII.
is placed in the middle; this is fuppofed to be pervious, and to
conftitute what may be properly called the probofeis. The other
fix finaller parts, or Iheaths, difpofed in three pairs, are placed
on each fide the former. They not only aflift it in extracting and
gathering the honey from the flowers, but they alfo protea and
ftrengthen it. The probofeis (i i, b c) itfelf is very curioufly
divided ; the divifions are elegant and regular, and are befet all
round with briftly triangular hairs, difiributed in an elegant order:
thefe divifions, though very numerous, appear at firft fight as a
number of different articulations.
The two pieces a a o f the exterior fheath are o f a fubfiance
partly between bone and horn, and partly membranaceous ; they
are fet round with hairs, and are furnilhed with air vefiels, which
are difiributed through their whole texture ; the upper ends f f
of this fheath appear to be a little bent, but can be ffraitened by
the bee when they are applied to the' probofeis. At dd are two
X x 2 articu