HYMENOPTERA. C 1 7 



SEVENTH ORDER. HYMENOPTERA, (Gr. f v^v, humen, a mem- 

 brane ; TiTsgovj pteron, a wing.) 



In the insects of this order, inferior in numbers only to the 

 Beetles, the nervures, or veins of the wings, form the basis of 

 numerous sub-divisions. The wings differ from those of the 

 Neuroptera in being of a less delicate construction, and having 

 fewer nervures. The mandibles are distinct, but better fitted for 

 imbibing nourishment by suction than by mastication ; the body 

 is of a hard consistence ; the antennae are variable, but for the 

 most part slender, showing twelve articulations in the male, and 

 thirteen in the female ; the tarsi are generally pentamerous or 

 five-jointed. These insects are also peculiarly distinguished by 

 the prolongation of the body in the case of the females, into an 

 organ which in some is a sting, in others an ovipositor, or instru- 

 ment for depositing the eggs usually having the power of bor- 

 ing a hollow for their reception. The Hymenoptera are 

 among the most remarkable of the class, for their instinctive fac- 

 ulties, their social qualities and habits, and their powers of loco- 

 motion. The Bees, the Wasps, the Ants, the Saw-flies, the Ich- 

 neumons and the Gall-flies have, from the remotest periods, been 

 objects of attention to the observers of nature. 



The order is sometimes arranged into two sections, viz. : the 

 TEREBRANTIA, in which the female has a saw or borer for the 

 deposition of eggs ; and the ACULEATA, in which the abdomen 

 of the females and neuters is possessed of a sting, which is con- 

 nected with a poison reservoir. The former section includes 

 seven families ; the latter seventeen. 



TEREBRANTIA BORERS. 



The SAW-FLIES, Tenthredinidce, (Gr. Tenthreddn, from tentho, 

 to gnaw,) are the only ones of the order which have feet. The 

 larvae feed upon leaves or vegetable matter. The ovipositor of 

 the female appears to combine the properties of a saw and file. 

 The Saw-fly, Tenthredo, is also named Cimbex ulmi, (Lat. of an 

 elm,) because it inhabits the Elm. 



The WOOD- WASPS, or Horn-Tails, Urocerida, (from Gr. owra, 

 a tail ; keras, a horn,) are a family of insects which often do great 

 mischief to fruit trees and also to forest trees, especially resin- 

 ous ones. The females have an ovipositor in the form of a slen- 

 der horn, consisting of five pieces two outside grooved and 

 forming a hollow tube ; the other and inner pieces are nee- 

 dles, with which the trunks of trees are pierced to make a 



