HYMEXOPTERA. 153 



The characters of Hymenoptera are as follows : 



The wings are four in number, clear, membranous, 

 and furnished with a few branching veins, but which are 

 sometimes altogether wanting in the smaller species. 

 On the front margin of the fore-wing is a thickened 

 spot or stigma, on its inner margin is a fold for the 

 reception of a row of hooks with which the hind-wings 

 are furnished on their front margin, and which, during 

 flight, unite the fore and hind-wings (see fig. 23, p. 49 ; 

 fig. 24, p. 50). 



The veining of the wings in this, as in other orders, 

 is valuable as a help to determining genera, and a figure 

 (taken from Mr. Smith's " Catalogue of British Hyme- 

 noptera in the British Museum "} will be given in the 

 table of Hymenoptera following Chapter xix. The 

 limits of this work, however, render it impossible even 

 to name more than a few genera, and the characters of 

 the wings can be but very scantily used. 



The mouth has been described in the second chapter. 

 The abdomen of the females is furnished with a sawing 

 or boring, or piercing ovipositor, or with a venomous 

 sting. 



This order contains the Bees, Wasps, Ants, Sawflies, 

 Gallflies, and other well-known insects. 



In most cases (as in the Bees, Ants, &c.) the larvae of 

 the Hymenoptera are worm-like grubs, without feet, and 

 live, for the most part, in cells of some kind, formed 

 by the parent for their reception. 



These little prisoners are necessarily dependent on 

 the adults for their food, and accordingly we find 

 this provided for them in one way or another. The 

 Solitary Wasps make provision beforehand, by storing 

 up coils of half-killed caterpillars in the clay-built tubes 



