Abstract
THE concertina-like movement observable in the abdomen in the case of wasps and bees is, I believe, the visible evidence of the act of pumping the air in and out for respiratory purposes, and a similar phenomenon may be seen in dragon-flies, except that in the latter the movement is lateral and slow, whilst in wasps and bees it is axial and rather quick. I have not noticed any such movement in other groups of the Hymenoptera, and it is apparently absent in the Diptera, except Eristalis tenax, the common drone-fly, which obviously mimics the hive bee and other small species. If this movement really is due to respiration can any reader say why it is so comparatively restricted in the insect world? One would have expected soft-bodied insects, such as Diptera, to exhibit it more obviously than the more chitinous species amongst the Hymenoptera. I, and probably others, should be glad of any information throwing light on this matter.
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NICHOLSON, C. Respiratory Movements of Insects. Nature 93, 295 (1914). https://doi.org/10.1038/093295d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/093295d0
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