rastellum

Noun

rastellum (plural rastella)

1. In certain mygalomorph spiders, a row of stiff spines on the chelicera.
   • Mygalomorph spiders tend to be relatively long lived. The majority of these spiders live in burrows in the soil. Many of the burrowing forms have a patch of short stiff spines on their chelicerae called a rastellum that they use for digging.2012, Richard A. Bradley, Common Spiders of North America
   • The female has robust chelicerae with a rastellum. The fovea is a pit, not longitudinal as in Antrodiaetus.2012, Richard A. Bradley, Common Spiders of North America, page 73
2. In honey bees, a row of spines on the distal end of the tibia used to manipulate pollen.
   • The pollen detached by the rastellum falls on the surface of the auricle and adheres to it. Then by an upward flexion of the basitarsus on the tibia, the pollen on the auricle, held in place by the rastellum, is pressed up into the lower end of the tibial basket.1984, Robert E. Snodgrass, Anatomy of the Honey Bee, page 110
   • The pollen rake of the opposing hind leg scrapes the inner surface of each pollen comb, which results in the pollen being transferred from each pollen comb through the rastellum to the pollen press on the opposite leg.1991, Mark L. Winston, The Biology of the Honey Bee, page 26