CHAPTEE VH 

 SAWFLIES AND BEES 



EACH Order of insects is distinguished 

 by some special feature. The physical 

 structure of the beetles, the leaping 

 powers of the grasshoppers, the flight of the 

 dragonflies, the vast number of flies, the 

 varied colouring of butterflies, are all matters 

 which arrest attention. In the case of the 

 Hymenoptera the impressive character is their 

 social organization. Ants, bees, and wasps 

 in many cases live together in dwellings, 

 built by the joint labour of the community, 

 and with an orderly system of government. 

 The termites afford the only parallel among 

 insects, and outside the insects we must pass 

 to man himself before we discover anything 

 in Nature corresponding to these wonderful 

 assemblies. Of the social insects, the ant 

 is regarded by modern scientists as the most 



