HIVE BEE. 291 



Wasps' nests are formed of small fibres of wood, which 

 the insects gnaw from posts, doors, the sashes of win- 

 dows, or other old wood. Their commonwealth con- 

 sists, like that of the hornets and the bees, of three dif- 

 ferent kinds of flies males, females, and neuters. To 

 the latter chiefly belongs the duty of forming the nests, 

 and occasionally feeding the males, the females, and 

 the young. Wasps feed very voraciously, on other 

 insects, fruit, and even on butcher's meat. It has been 

 computed, that a single nest of Wasps is capable of 

 annually giving birth to as many as thirty thousand 

 young ones. 



16. BEE TRIBE. 



So numerous are the different species of Bees, that 

 more than two hundred kinds have been discovered wild 

 in our own country. The greater part of them live in 

 society, and form combs for the production of a numerous 

 offspring. 



Hive Bee. A hive of Bees generally contains from 



sixteen to twenty thousand insects, of which one only 



is a female, about 1500 are males, or drones, and the 



rest are neuters, or working-bees. The latter form the 



combs, make the honey, and feed the young ones. For 



the formation of the honey, they suck the nectareous 



"uices of flowers. The female is called the queen bee, 



id is easily distinguished from the rest, by the size and 



lape of her body. These insects, like the wasps, are 



naished with an acrid poison, and armed with a sting, 



\ch they use as a weapon of defence. This sting is 



_/ wonderful in its structure. It consists of a hol- 



2. To, 2 



2. Sco, 



3. Son 



