A bit of a random page that I add to occasionally with photos from a microscope – the fascinating world of Honey Bee Anatomy.
All images (c) Read Apiaries (even if they are of variable quality!)
Magnified 400x, the pointy painful end of a honey bee – the stinger. Technically this is the shaft section of the sting apparatus – the bit that goes into you if you’re stung. The shaft actually consists of three separate pointed structures, with a canal down the middle along which the venom is pumped, you can just see the canal in the photo. You can also see a set of backward pointing barbs. In tough skin like ours it’s why the bee can’t pull it’s stinger back out.
Ever wondered how a honeybee cleans its antennae? No probably not. Well, they use a special notch and comb on their front (fore) legs which, combined with a downward pointing hard flap (called a fibula), the bee draws its antenna through to clean it. If you watch a honeybee closely (easy if you’re a beekeeper!) you will often see a bee cleaning it’s antenna with it’s fore legs, particularly if it’s just got covered in something. You can see this antenna cleaning apparatus in the photo (arrowed).