CHAPTER XXX 

 ORDER HYMENOPTERA'= 



Bees, Wasps, Ants, and others 



The winged members of this order have four wings; these are mem- 

 branous and have the wing-venation more or less reduced. The hind 

 wings are smaller than the fore wings. The mouth-parts are formed for 

 chewing or for both chewing and sucking. The abdomen in the females 

 is usually furnished with a sting, piercer, or saw. The metamorphosis 

 is complete. 



The Hymenoptera is a very large order, including a vast number 

 of species. The bees, wasps, and ants are among the better-known 



Fig. 1 125. — Wings of Apis showing hamuli. 



members of it ; but in addition to these it includes a large number of 

 less familiar forms. Many of these are minute parasites of other in- 

 sects; others cause the growth of galls on plants; and still others, in 

 their larval state, feed on the foliage of plants or are borers in the 

 stems of bushy or herbaceous plants or in the limbs and trunks of 

 trees. 



The members of this order are chiefly of small or moderate size, 

 and many of them abound wherever flowers bloom. From very early 

 times some of them have been favorites with students of the habits 

 of animals, for among them we find wonderful developments of in- 

 stinctive powers. Many volumes have been written regarding their 

 ways, and much remains to be discovered , even concerning our most 

 common species. 



*Hymen6ptera: Hymen (iifj.-n"), membrane; pteron {impbv), wing. 



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