When Dr Lesley Goodman lost her fight against lung cancer in 1998, she left behind her vision for an accessible, authoritative reference work for bee scientists, undergraduates and beekeepers. Form and Function in the Honey Bee is the fruition of her work – a posthumous tribute to her life and interests.
Containing over 340 diagrams, micrographs and colour illustrations, Form and Function in the Honey Bee works equally well as an expert guide to the physiology and anatomy of the honey bee, and as an introduction to this fascinating field for students and others. The chapters take the reader through the major structures and activities of the honey bee – the antennae, compound eyes, dorsal ocelli, the bee's response to gravity, feeding, respiration, flight, glands and colony defence are all examined in detail to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of how and why the honey bee behaves as it does.
Form and Function in the Honey Bee has been completed posthumously by Prof. Richard J Cooter, Chair of the L.J. Goodman Insect Physiology Trust, and Dr Pamela Munn, Deputy Director of the International Bee Research Association.
1. The antennal sense organs: smelling, tasting, touching and hearing in the bee
2. Vision in the bee: the compound eye
3. The dorsal ocelli: the bee's second set of eyes
4. The bee's response to gravity: which way is up?
5. Feeding:
1. Using the mouthparts
2. Tasting the food
3. Collecting the pollen
6. Respiration: how do bees breathe?
7. Flight: wings, aerodynamics, sensory control and metabolism
8. Glands: chemical communication and wax production
9. Defending the colony: the sting