At the lower edge of the face is the front lip or labrum, behind which are the median epi'pharynx^

the paired
mandibles {Md) and maxillœ^ the median hypopharynx. and the labium or under lip. All these organs together
constitute what are known as the mouth parts or trophy.

They vary greatly in shape and appearance in different insects according to the nature of the food, but their typical
form is usually taken to be that shown by the lower insects which feed on solid food and have biting mouth parts.

c) The mandibles are a pair of jaws suspended from the head and parts of the bee's mouth. The
insect uses them to chew wood when redesigning the hive entrance, to chew pollen and to work
wax for comb-building. They also permit any activity requiring a pair of grasping instruments.

d) The proboscis: Unlike the proboscis of all other sucking insects, that of the honeybee is not a
permanent functional organ; it is improvised temporarily by assembling parts of
the maxillae and the labium to produce a unique tube for drawing up liquids such as sweet
juices, nectar, water and honey. The insect releases it when needed for use, then withdraws and
folds it back beneath the head when it is not needed.

Mouthparts of honey bee worker (side view). After Goodman (2003, fig. 5-13) [1]. Most of the time the honey bee
mouthparts are folded and hidden behind the head. Then bees can use their mandibles to manipulate solid
substances. In order to collect liquid food bees need to unfold the mouthparts.
Mouthparts of honey bee worker (posterior view). After Michener (1974, fig. 1.6) [1]. The mouthparts
are unfolded and spread apart. Most of the time they are folded behind the head and held together.
See also mechanism of folding of the mouthparts.

Cd - cardo (plural cardines)

Ga - galea
Gls - glossa (tongue)
Lbl - labellum
LbPlp - labial palpus
Lr - lorum [2], submentum [1]
MxPlp - maxillary palpus
Pgl - paraglossa
Pmt - postmentum [2], mentum [1]
Prmt - prementum
St – stipes
The glossa is similar to a long cylinder. The diameter of the glossa is 185.0±1.5 micrometers at the base and 96.6±0.3 micrometers in the middle part. The
glossa consists of segments. Length of one segment is about 23 micrometers. On apical part of each of the segments there are 16-20 hairs. The hairs on basal
part of the glossa are stiff and short (32 - 63 micrometers long), whereas the hairs on the middle and apical part are longer (171.9±0.3 micrometers
long) [3]. At the apex of the glossa there is a spoon-like flabellum. The mouthparts are cleaned with foreleg tarsi [4].
Ingesting liquid food by bees is based on mechanism of "viscous dipping" [5]. The tongue is extended and immersed into nectar. At this stage hairs on the
glossa erect asynchronously [6][7] and trap the nectar [8], see also video [5]. The erectable hairs can increase the ability of a bee to collect nectar [3].
Next, when coated with nectar, the glossa is retracted to a tube formed from galeae and labial palpi. Then the nectar is sucked into pharynx. There are ridges
on the inner wall of galeae which can reduce friction during drinking [9][10]. Honey bees are able to imbibe 1.8 microlitres of diluted nectar per second [11].
This rate is lower in case of higher concentrations of nectar [11]. It was suggested that the optimal for bees concentration of sugar in nectar, which is a
compromise between energy content and intake speed is about 52% [5] but see [3]. There are sensory organs on the mouthparts which facilitate the food
intake [12][13][14][15].

Mandibles

Ventral view of left mandible of honey bee queen (A), worker (B) and drone (C). After Snodgrass (1956, fig. 23) [1].

From evolutionary point of view the mandibles are homologous with coxae of mandibular (forth) head segment.

References

1. Snodgrass R.E. (1956) Anatomy of the honey bee. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, pp. 334.
 THE THORAX

The armour-plated mid-section of an insect, the thorax, supports two pairs of wings and three
pairs of legs, and carries the locomotor, or "engine", and the muscles that control the movement
of the head, the abdomen and the wings.

a) The legs: Each pair of legs differs in size and shape from the other two pairs and is Jointed
into six segments, with a pair of claws at the tip which help the insect to cling to surfaces. The
leg can be flexed at any of the six joints. Its primary function is to help the bee to walk and run,
but various parts also serve special purposes other than locomotion. For example, the brushes on
the inner surface of the fifth segment, (the tarsus) of the two front legs are used for sweeping
pollen and other particles from the head, eyes and mouth parts. The same tarsi of the mid-legs
serve as brushes for cleaning the thorax, while the spines found at the end of the fourth sections
(tibiae) are used for removing the pellets of pollen and for cleaning the wings. Two important
parts to note on the legs are the antenna cleaners on the front legs and the pollen baskets on the
hind legs.

i) The antenna cleaner, located on the inner margin of the tibia of the forelegs, consists of a
deeply-cut semi-circular notch, equipped with a comb-like row of small spines. All three castes -
drone, queen, worker -- have this cleaning apparatus.

ii) Pollen baskets: The tibiae of the hind legs of the worker bee carry a special apparatus, called
the corbiculae, or pollen baskets, which enables her to carry pollen into the hive. These pollen
baskets, concave in shape, are surrounded with several long hairs which bind the contents into an
almost solid mass, allowing the worker to carry the load safely home.

b) The wings of the honeybee, like those of most insects, are thin, flat and two-layered. The front
pair is much longer than the rear. The worker's wings are used both for flight and for ventilating
the hive, while the drone and the queen use theirs for flight only.