ORDER VI. VEIN- WINGED INSECTS. 271 



more than a, foot long, and four inches wide, before they 

 fly out, which fact is regarded as a proof that they produce 

 wax from their own bodies, without having ever collected 

 any of the pollen of ilowers or other materials for that pur- 

 pose. If the weather is fine, they fly out on the third day 

 for the purpose of collecting their materials, and in twenty- 

 four hours after a comb may often be seen, twenty inches 

 long, by eight inches wide ; and in five days half of the hive 

 will be filled with combs. 



6th. THEIR STING AND BATTLES. The proboscis of mos- 

 quitoes and horse-flies forms their venomous weapon of de- 

 fense ; but this member is entirely harmless in the bee, while 

 their sting, which is found at the hindmost extremity of 

 their bodies, is much more formidable, and in its construc- 

 tion is somewhat remarkable and deserving of notice. If a 

 bee be taken by the neck between two fingers, or, what is 

 safer, between the blades of a pair of forceps, it will bend 

 itself toward the part where it is held, and repeatedly dart 

 forth its sting for the purpose of inflicting a wound. If the 

 hind body be pressed in the same manner, the sting will be 

 forced out, and although it is very thin, it may readily be 

 examined with the naked eye, and a small drop of venom 

 will be seen at its extremity, which is proof that it is hol- 

 low. With the further assistance of a magnifying glass, we 

 find that this sting is composed of four parts, like bristles 

 united together, of which the two internal ones are armed 

 with a hook. These four bristles are all inserted in the 

 wound made by the sting, which is thus formed into a hol- 

 low tube, filled with clear and fluid venom, which proceeds 

 from a small bladder at its upper part within the body. 

 Hence if a bee is suddenly driven away as soon as it has 

 stung a person, the whole of the sting remains in the wound, 

 retained by its hook, and with it also remains the venom- 

 bag, with some of the entrails, on account of which the bee 

 loses its life. All this may be witnessed by forcing a bee 



