260 AN INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGY 



2. BEES IN GENERAL 



a. Classification of Honeybees 



The bees belong, with the ants, wasps, etc., to the order Hy- 

 menoptera. In this order are included all insects with four 

 membranous wings, the hind wings being the smaller; with 

 biting and sucking mouth parts; with a sting, piercer, or saw at 

 the end of the abdomen of the female; and with a complete 

 metamorphosis, i.e. with larval and pupal stages during develop- 

 ment. The honeybee belongs in the family Apidae, and is the 

 most specialized with regard to its communistic life of any of the 

 group. The species of honeybee found in this country is Apu 

 mellifica. A number of other species of honeybees inhabiting 

 Asia and Africa are placed with mellifica in the genus Apis. 

 The individuals of the species Apis mellifica are not all alike in 

 structure, color, or activities. Seven or more races are recognized. 

 The characteristics of the more important races are contrasted 

 in Table XII. The relations of the honeybees to other insects 

 and to each other are shown in outline in Table XIII. 



b. Gynandromorphs 



A normal colony of honeybees contains, as stated before, a 

 fertilized, egg-laying queen, a number of males or drones, and 

 thousands of sterile females or workers. A number of bees have 

 been discovered which showed male characters in certain parts 

 of the body and female characters in other parts. Abnormal 

 insects of this kind are known as gynandromorphs. Butterflies, 

 ants, and bees appear to be more often afflicted than other 

 insects. The best well-known instance of gynandromorphism 

 occurred in a hive of bees at Eugster and was reported by von 

 Siebolt. This hive contained an Italian queen and German 

 drones. The workers produced by this queen were therefore 

 hybrids. Some of the gynandromorphs in this colony had the 

 anterior end of the body male, the posterior female; others 

 exhibited male characters on the right and female on the left ? 



