118 HYMENOPTERA. 



THE HYMENOPTERA. 



In the Order Hymenoptera we find a number of 

 insects, remarkable not only for beautiful modifi- 

 cations of structure, but for the possession of higlily 

 developed instinct and reasoning powers. Many 

 are excellent architects, and build dwellings marvel- 

 lously contrived. They are especially fond of their 

 young, which they watch over, and feed and rear with 

 the utmost solicitude. They form governments, carry 

 on systematic wars, capture slaves whom they constrain 

 to work for the good of the body politic, and are 

 remarkable for their social qualities. The order has 

 just claims to occupy the first rank amongst the other 

 orders of the Insect world. 



The Bee, Wasp, Ant, Ichneumon, and Gall-fly belong 

 to this order, and they have attracted the attention of 

 man from very remote periods. The wings are always 

 four in number; the abdomen of the females is 

 furnished either with an ovipositor in the shape of a saw 

 or an auger, or with a venomous sting. All undergo 

 complete metamorphosis : the larvae, in most cases, are 

 footless grubs, and live in cells provided for them ; they 

 are for the most part dependent on the food supplied to 

 them by their parents ; but the Saw-flies exhibit 

 striking differences, their larvae, being provided with 

 legs like those of the Lepidoptera, are able from earliest 

 infancy to procure their own food. 



The Hymenoptera are divided into two sections, viz., 

 the Terebrantia and the Aculeata. In the former the 



