Exposing the viscera (Plate l6A)

1. Mount the queen for dissection, dorsal surface uppermost.

2. Open the abdomen carefully, avoiding damage to the underlying organs when taking off the roof.

3. When the roof appears to be quite free, raise the front edge of it slightly with the forceps.

4. gently detach, with a needle held in the right hand, the soft organs which cling to the roof.

If this is not done very carefully the ovaries will be pulled out and spoiled. The undisturbed viscera will then have the appearance shown in Plate 16A. At their anterior ends, the ovarioles of the two ovaries are joined, and at this point were attached to the heart, from which they were detached before lifting the roof.

5. Identify the parts flagged in the plate, and note:

   5.1. the enormous ovaries that fill about two-thirds of the abdomen;

   5.2. the rectum that is always empty.