Re the article in Tom Sanford's APIS newsletter, about the search for bees' ears, by Dr. W. Towne, Kutzdown U., Penn, and W. Kirchner, Germany: For several years, I've wondered about a pair of "windows" on the anterior ventral curve (sternal area) of the mesothorax, which I noticed while examining honey bee "thoracic discs" for tracheal mites. Each window is a wedge-shaped patch where the exoskeleton wall is much thinner, and the large branched hairs (as on the surrounding body wall) are absent. The patches are about 1 mm on each side of the centre line, about 0.4 mm long and 0.1 mm wide at the upper, widest part. They are easy to see in KOH cleared thoracic discs, after muscles are removed. The structures aren't described in Snodgrass' book. It seems like a location that would be useful for detecting vibrations, especially from a comb surface. Towne and Kirchner might follow this up, does anyone know how to contact them? (or know any more about these structures) Kerry Clark, Apiculture Specialist B.C. Ministry of Agriculture 1201 103 Ave Dawson Creek B.C. V1G 4J2 CANADA Tel (604) 784-2225 fax (604) 784-2299 INTERNET [log in to unmask]