HYMENOPTERA : CHARACTERS. 



381 



Head of the bee, with the tong-ue more 

 fully extended, in fig. 4 ; and with all the 

 parts displayed, in fig. 5. 



great a weight ought not to be allowed to these consider- 

 ations. We have already said that the Hymenoptera in general 

 feed upon the honey of flowers 

 — hence, unlike the Coleo- 

 ptera (in which some are pre- 

 daceous, others hgnivorous, 

 others herbivorous, and others 

 necrophagous), an uniformity 

 in the mode of nourishment 

 exists ; the only variation con- 

 sisting in the employment of 

 the sap exuding from the 

 wounds of plants, or the juices 

 of fruits. If, indeed, certain 

 of the Tenthredinidce (such as 

 Tenthredo scrophularice) attack 

 other insects, they form but an exception to a general rule, 

 which they and some other species infringe but rarely, and, 

 as it would seem, only when the 

 excessive heat has di-ied up 

 the supply of honey. The ants 

 and wasps also appear to 

 offer exceptions to the rule, 

 but it is not real, since, as they 

 are often found upon flowers, of 



'^^"l^^Sii^SP^^^^^J' '^^^^^^ *^^y ^'^^ ^^^^ ^^p *^^^ 



^<jyi^lkmm^w^^^ honey, it is presumable that this 

 is their ordinary food, and 

 that if they destroy other in- 

 sects, it is only for the purpose 

 of getting at the honey with 

 which the latter are gorged. 

 Moreover, in the nests of cer- 

 tain social wasps, and even in 



Nest of PoUstes gallica. 



