CHAPTER XX. 

 THE BEE AND OTHER MEMBRANE-WINGED INSECTS. 



THE bee stands at the head of all the insects, as in its 

 most important features it is superior to all, both in struc- 

 ture and in mental traits. We will select the honey-bee, 

 as one is always sure of finding plenty of specimens. Those 

 that we see in our gardens are the workers ; the males, or 

 drones, and the females, or queens, are rarely seen out of 

 the hive. 



In the first place, see how well-proportioned are the three 



ro* 



on* 



FIG. 134. Head of a worker hive-bee. A, front, and B, side, view; oc, simple, e, 

 compound, eyes ; epic, epicranium; c/, clypeus; Ibr, labrum; nid, mandible; 

 nix, maxilla; /, lingua or tongue ; Ip, labial palpi. (Magnified.) 



regions of the body ; the head is large in proportion to the 

 thorax, which is nearly spherical ; and the hind body, 

 which has six visible segments, is short, conical, and at- 

 tached by a slender waist to the chest. 



Looking at the head, which is carried vertically, the 

 compound eyes are seen to be very large, while the three 



