ID#: 8830
Caption:
Magnified 125X, this scanning electron microscopic (SEM) image revealed some of the morphologic features encountered at the distal tip of a male eastern carpenter bee's, Xylocopa virginica, abdomen. Note the absence of a stinger, for male carpenter bees have no stinger, and therefore, cannot sting, while females do have a stinger, and though they can sting, they very rarely do. The body of X. virginica is covered by a coating of sensorial hairs, known as setae. The material from which these sensory structures are constructed is known as chitin, and is the same material that created its tough exoskeleton. These setae, as well as the antennae, are sensorial in nature, and transmit changes in the bee's environment such as fluctuations in temperature, chemistry, and wind speed and direction.
High Resolution: Click here for hi-resolution image (5.48 MB)
Content Provider(s): CDC/ Janice Haney Carr, Oren Mayer
Creation Date: 2006
Photo Credit: Janice Haney Carr
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Copyright Restrictions: None - This image is in the public domain and thus free of any copyright restrictions.