PLATE 1.15. QUEEN CERVIX, CLOSE-UP

BOTTOM LEFT Dorsoposterior view (viewed obliquely) of the postocciput of the queen where the head joins the darker-appearing membranous cervix (neck). Long body hairs cover the thorax. The arrow indicates an area further magnified in the top left micrograph. ( x 84)

TOP LEFT Lateral occipital sclerite (hair plate) (arrow in the bottom left micrograph) bearing putative mechanoreceptor hairs that are bent when this plate touches the episternum of the prothorax. In bending, these hairs inform the central nervous system of the angle of the head relative to the rest of the body. (x 912)

RIGHT Higher magnification of the cuticular scales adorning the membranous cervix. The adaptive value of these scales and their short, pectinate processes is unknown at present. (x 2,200)