ARTICULATA. 293 
are sometimes mistaken for Humming-birds. The “ po- 
tato- worm” is the caterpillar of a Sphinx. The most 
conspicuous Moths are the large and beautiful Aztacus, 
distinguished by a triangular, transparent spot in the 
centre of the wing; the white Bombyx, or “silk-worm ;” 
the reddish-brown Clisiocampa, whose larva, “the Amer- 
ican Tent-caterpillar,” spreads its web in many an ap- 
ple and cherry tree; the pale, delicate Geometrids ; and 
the small but destructive Z%neids, represented by the 
Clothes-moth. 
7. Hymenopters, comprising at least 25,000 species, in- 
clude the highest, most social, and, we may add (if we ex- 
cept the Silk-worm), the most useful, of Insects. They 
have a large head, with compound eyes and three ocelli, 
mouth fitted both for biting and suction,” legs formed 
for locomotion as well as support, and four wings equally 
transparent, and interlocking by small hooks during flight. 
The females are usually provided with a sting, or borer. 
The larvee are footless, helpless grubs, and generally nurt- 
Fic. 269.—Honey-hbee (Apis mellifica): a, female; b, worker; c, male. 
ured in cells, or nests. Such are the Honey-bees (Apis), 
Humble-bees (Bombus), Wasps ( Vespa), Ants (Formica), 
Ichneumon-flies, and Gall-flies. Those living in societies 
exhibit three castes: females, or “queens;”’ males, or 
“drones;” and neuters, or sexless “workers.” There is but 
one queen in a hive, and she is treated with the greatest 
distinction, even when dead. She dwells in a large, pear- 
shaped cell, opening downward. She lays three broods of 
eggs: from the first come forth workers, the second pro- 
