SOCIALES HONEY-BEE 



6 9 



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a true native of the eastern hemisphere, and its original home 

 may possibly have heen not far from the shores of the eastern 

 portion of the Mediterranean sea. Seven or eight other species 

 of A{>/* are known, all hut one of which occur in Asia, ex- 

 tending as far as Timor and Celebes. The exceptional one, A. 

 <x/tnix< mil, occurs in tropical Africa and 

 in Madagascar. Gerstaecker thought 

 these species might be reduced to four, 

 but Smith's statement that the males 

 and even the workers show good dis- 

 tinctive characters seems to be correct. 

 Very little is known as to the honey- 

 bees of China and Japan. 



The queen-bee greatly resembles the 

 worker, but has the hind body more 

 elongated ; she can, however, always be 

 distinguished from the worker by the 

 absence of the beautiful transverse, 

 comb-like series of hairs on the inner 

 side of the first joint of the hind foot, 

 the planta, as it is called by the bee- 

 keeper : she has also no wax plates and 

 differs in important anatomical peculi- 

 arities. The male bee or drone is very 

 different, being of much broader, more 

 robust build, and with very large eyes 

 that quite meet in the middle of the 

 upper part of the head : he also has the 

 hind leg differently shaped. The form of 



this limb enables the male of A. mellifica FIG. 25. Portions of hind-feet, 

 to be distinguished from the correspond- 

 ing sex of allied species of the genus. 



We are indebted to Home for some 

 particulars as to the habits of A. dow/", 

 an allied East Indian species. He informs 

 us that these hees greatly disfigure buildings, such as the Taj Malm 1 

 at Agra, by /attaching their pendent combs to the marble arches, 

 and are so pertinacious that it is almost useless to destroy the 

 nests. This bee is said to be so savage in its disposition that it 

 cannot be domesticated ; it attacks the sparingly clad Hindoos 



1, of male, 2. of worker. :.!, 

 of queen, of the honey-bee ; 

 series on the left, outer 

 faces; on the ri^hi. inner 

 faces, a, Tip of tibia : /<, 

 first joint ; c, second joint 

 of tarsus. 



