lyTRODUcrw.y. 7 



canal of the sting. The latter, which only exist in the 

 worker bees, consist of glands which secrete the wax from 

 the blood, and from which the wax in a liquid state soaks 

 through the abdominal wall, and is collected and cools on 

 the ventral segments of the abdomen. 



ExTKRNAL Anatomy. 

 The skeleton is hard and usually more or less shining 

 and black, but yellow and red markings are frequent, and 

 some species are entirely pale and testaceous. Many of the 

 species of the Anthophila are very hairy, and in this section 

 the hairs are plumose — at any rate those on the thorax — 

 whereas in the other sections they are simple, or in some 

 cases twisted. 



Head large, but varying little in general form. The 

 face is vertical or nearly so ; the vertex usually convex and 

 transverse, sometimes nearly quadrate. The compound eyi^s 

 generally occupy a considerable portion of each side of the 

 head, and are composed of many facets, although amongst 

 the anis they are sometimes wanting, or are reduced to a 

 single facet. Besides the compound eyes there are usually 

 three ocelli on the vertex, arranged more or less in a tiiangle. 

 The side of the face below and behind the eye is called the 

 clipek. This varies much in length, and in some genera the 

 eyes meet, or nearly meet, the mandibles. From each side 

 of the face between the eyes spring the antennce. These are 

 as a rule thirteen jointed in the S , twelve jointed ia the 

 ? and 5. The first joint, which is very long in the ants, 

 is called the scape, and the remaining joints the Jlagel- 

 lum. The antennce in the Aculeates are mostly filiform, 

 or very slightly thickened to the apex, but the basal joint 

 is often much thicker than the others, the second almost 

 always very short; in the ants the apical joints form a 

 distinct club ; the lower central portion of the face is nearly 

 always divided from the upper, and often from the side 

 portions by distinct impressed lines. The area thus limited 



