350 CLASS VIII. 
in a natural arrangement, they can take no other place than in the 
immediate neighbourhood of these. By inserting the Lepidotera 
between the two, as is done by LaTREILLE, the natural transition is 
interrupted. 
Section I. Aculeata. Abdomen always petiolate, in females 
(and neuters) armed with a puncturing sting that conducts, in many 
at least, a poison, or containing glands that secrete and ejaculate an 
acrid humour. Antenne mostly with 12 joints (in females) or 13 
(in males). Larvee apodous. 
Sting-bearers. The wings are constantly veined. The larve have 
a quantity of food sufficient for the entire state laid near the egg 
by the mother, or are provided with it daily by the sexless nurses. 
The latter is the case with those which live in society. 
The sting here takes the place of the ovipositor of other insects ; 
it is connected with an apparatus for the secretion of poison, which, 
in the bee, consists of two long blind tortuous tubes, which coalesce 
at an acute angle to form a single tube that expands into an oval 
bladder. From this bladder a fluid passes into the sting, just as 
from the excretory duct of the poison-gland of the viper into the 
hollow tooth. The sting consists of a pointed case grooved on the 
ventral surface, in which groove two fine spicule drawn to a point 
are placed. At the extremity these spicule are provided with sharp 
teeth, having their points or barbs reverted, which are less power- 
fully developed in the female (amongst bees in the queen) than in 
the sexless individuals (the working bees) ; also in the former the 
sting is longer and turned upwards, hollow on the ventral surface. 
Certain horny plates cover the base of the sting. In the males 
these parts are wanting. Comp. SwamMmMerDAM Sibel d. Nat. bl. 
456—466, Tab. xvii. figs. u—i1v ; Réaumur Jns. v. pp. 340—369, 
Pl. 29; Kunzmann in Hurenann’s Journal d. Praktischen Heil- 
kunde, 1820, s. 119—127. On the sexless individuals in the order 
of Hymenoptera we have treated above, p. 271. 
Family XIV. Mellifera s. Anthophila. All the individuals 
winged. Wings expanded. First or basilar joint of posterior tarsi 
(planta KrrBy) large, compressed, elongato-quadrate or triangular. 
Maxille elongate, membranous, forming with the labium the pro- 
boscis. 
The larvee live on the pollen and honey of flowers. Most of the 
Species unite for a time, or for the duration of their life, to form a 
large community. When the society is for life, there are constantly 
