SCIENTIFIC TRACTS. 



VOL. II NO. XV . 



THE BEE 



The Bee tribe of insects is very large, embracing a vast 

 variety of species. The general characteristics of the 

 genus are four membranaceous wings, and the female 

 being armed with a sting. This genus is called by natu- 

 ralists opes, and there are no other genera of insects 

 which comprehend agreater number or variety. In this 

 article our attention will be directed to but one species, 

 the common honey or domesticated bee. 



Almost from time immemorial this useful little insect 

 has attracted th(3 attention and the admiration of man. 

 Treatises respecting its habits, and the mode of its culti- 

 vation, are frequently found from the pens of the ancient 

 classic writers. And their poetry is interspersed with 

 imagres and illustrations drawn from their domestic econ- 

 omy. The bee is found in almost every country, and sips 

 honey alike from the flower which blooms in the city and 

 the wilderness. 



In the warmer latitudes where a meridian sun adorns 

 the landscape with almost perpetual bloom, this little in- 

 sect finds its most congenial . home. It revels amid the 

 luxuriant vegetation of the tropics with but little care 

 from the hand of culture, and the abundant produce 

 of its industry affords one of the richest luxuries. 



The skill, the industry, and the wonderful order preserv- 

 ed by these little animals, have excited much astonishment, 

 and their history is replete with interest and instruction. 

 The sagacity which they manifest is perhaps surpassed 

 by that of no other animal. Their little empire is gov. 



VOL. II. NO. XV. 29 



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