258 NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS. 
in his ** Biblia Nature,” gives his minute anatomical inyes- 
tigations of the external and internal parts of the bee, while 
to the latter we are indebted for some of the best observa- 
tions concerning bees, published in the fifth volume of his 
“¢ Histoire des Insectes.”? The works of Mr. Huber, of Gene- 
va, in Switzerland, ‘*‘ Nouvelles Observations sur les Abeilles,” 
1814, as well as the “Treatise of Bees, by Robert Huish, 
London, 1815,” are both very rich in new observations con- 
cerning the history and treatment of these insects. The 
excellent work of the last-named author can not be too 
highly recommended, and should be in the possession of ev- 
ery apiarian. 
It is probably on account of their great utility, more than 
because of the wonderful phenomena which they exhibit, 
that bees have always received so much attention from 
mankind in general. While we are at no great expense for 
their food, they furnish us with a precious and lucrative 
luxury, and, except the silk-worm and cochineal, they are 
the only insects of direct commercial value to man. In 
comparison with the silk-worm and cochineal, the bees oc- 
cupy a superior rank, and are more generally beneficial to 
man, because they prosper in all climates, even where the 
former can not live. In those old times before the process 
of making sugar was known, and for a long time after in 
countries and among classes of people that could not pro- 
cure it, bees were much more important because of their 
honey. On this account, so much care was bestowed upon 
them in ancient times, as is related by Cato, Varro, Colu- 
mela, Palladius, and Virgil. 
The great importance of these insects, and the interest 
universally manifested in them, demands from us a tolera- 
bly minute description of their natural history, as well as 
the best modes of treating them, so as to make them most 
productive. 
It is impossible for any reflecting person to look at a bee- 
