The Anatomy of the Honey Bee

IN this modest pamphlet the author has given to entomologists an original, trustworthy, and excellently illustrated account of the structure of the honey bee, and another instance has been furnished of the scientific thoroughness that characterises the publications of the United States Department of Agriculture. Many volumes have been written on the honey bee, yet no surprise can be felt that Mr. Snodgrass has been able to add new points to our knowledge and to correct errors in the work of his predecessors. A feature of value to the serious student is the general survey of the external structure of a typical insect which the author has wisely given as an introduction to his account of the highly specialised modifications to be found in the bee. He expresses scepticism as to certain positive statements that have been made on controverted details of physiology and reproduction; for example, “concerning the origin of the royal jelly or of any of the larval food paste … we do not know anything about it.” There is a present-day tendency unduly to disparage the results obtained by former workers, and such a statement will strike many readers as extreme. Mr. Snodgrass's scepticism as to the parthenogenetic nature of “drone” eggs seems also unwarranted after the support which Weismann's researches, published ten years ago, afford to the generally accepted view.The Anatomy of the Honey Bee.By R. E. Snodgrass. (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology, Technical Series, No. 18.) Pp. 162. (Washington: 1910.)