DISTRIBUTION OF THE HYMENOPTERA. 151 



from that of the Neuroptera : the mouth is provided 

 with horny mandibles and a lengthened rostrum, formed 

 by the maxills ; this encloses the tongue, which is used 

 to lick up the food. The metamorphosis is variable, and 

 shows how little can be depended upon this character 

 when taken in a primary sense. The larva, in the great 

 majority, is apod or vermiform ; but in one of the aber- 

 rant groups it resembles that of the Lepidopfera ; while 

 the pupa is inactive in all. Such, concisely, are the 

 main characters of the order before us. It is distributed 

 over the whole of the world; and is, of all insects 

 (excepting those which produce silk), that which, by 

 the production of %vax and honey, is exceedingly ser- 

 viceable to man. When we add, that it comprises the 

 bees, ants, and gall flies, together with the wasps, and 

 ichneumons, it will be apparent that the Hymenoptera 

 are the most intelligent of all insects. 



(141.) Looking to the characteristics discovered in 

 all circular groups of the animal kingdom which have 

 been minutely investigated, we shall take these for our 

 guide ; and thus, by synthesis, we presume the follow- 

 ing to be the primary divisions of the class before us : — 

 First, the Apides, or bees, which live almost entirely on 

 vegetable substances : the body is short, thick, and hairy; 

 the antennae short and bent, and the legs comparatively 

 short: they are nearly all nectivorous, and eminently social. 

 The ants (^FormicidcB) appear to be the most aberrant 

 family of this tribe. 2. The Sphecides, or wasps, which 

 live, either in the larva or perfect state, upon other in- 

 sects, which are either killed and devoured, or wounded 

 and stored up by the parent for the support of the young: 

 the most typical (^Pepsis Fab.) are solitary; only a few, 

 like the European wasps {Vespa), build their nests in 

 common. The body is lengthened, generally slender, 

 and frequently petiolated ; that is, as if placed on a 

 slender stalk : the antennae are slender and curved, but 

 usually geniculated ; and the legs are long, slender, and 

 •frequently serrated or spined externally. None of these 

 insects collect the pollen of flowers, although many feed 



L i 



