350 CLASS VIII. 



in a natural arrangement, they can take no other place than in the 

 immediate neighbourhood of these. By inserting the Lepidotera 

 between the two, as is done by LATKEILLE, the natural transition is 

 interrupted. 



Section I. Aculeata. Abdomen always petiolate, in females 

 (and neuters) armed with a puncturing sting that conducts, in many 

 at least, a poison, or containing glands that secrete and ejaculate an 

 acrid humour . Antennae mostly with 12 joints (in females] or 13 

 (in males). Larvae apodous. 



Sting-bearers. The wings are constantly veined. The larvae have 

 a quantity of food sufficient for the entire state laid near the egg 

 by the mother, or are provided with it daily by the sexless nurses. 

 The latter is the case with those which live in society. 



The sting here takes the place of the ovipositor of other insects ; 

 it is connected with an apparatus for the secretion of poison, which, 

 in the bee, consists of two long blind tortuous tubes, which coalesce 

 at an acute angle to form a single tube that expands into an oval 

 bladder. From this bladder a fluid passes into the sting, just as 

 from the excretory duct of the poison-gland of the viper into the 

 hollow tooth. The sting consists of a pointed case grooved on the 

 ventral surface, in which groove two fine spiculce drawn to a point 

 are placed. At the extremity these spiculse are provided with sharp 

 teeth, having their points or barbs reverted, which are less power- 

 fully developed in the female (amongst bees in the queen) than in 

 the sexless individuals (the working bees) ; also in the former the 

 sting is longer and turned upwards, hollow on the ventral surface. 

 Certain horny plates cover the base of the sting. In the males 

 these parts are wanting. Comp. SWAMMERDAM ijbel d. Nat. bl. 

 456 466, Tab. xvm. figs, n iv ; REAUMUR Ins. v. pp. 340 369, 

 PL 29 j KUNZMANN in HUFELAKD'S Journal d. Praktischen ffeil- 

 kunde, 1820, s. 119 127. On the sexless individuals in the order 

 of Hymenoptera we have treated above, p. 271. 



Family XIV. Mellifera s. Antliopliila. All the individuals 

 winged. Wings expanded. First or basilar joint of posterior tarsi 

 (planta KIRBY) large, compressed, elongato-quadrate or triangular. 

 Maxillae elongate, membranous, forming with the labium the pro- 

 boscis. 



The larvse live on the pollen and honey of flowers. Most of the 

 species unite for a time, or for the duration of their life, to form a 

 large community. When the society is for life, there are constantly 



