CLASS-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY. 145 



§ 614. Bees collect the flower-dust, called pollen, and 

 carry it to their hives in a peculiar fossa on the hinder 

 thighs. 



§ 615. The pollen itself is not a wax-containing sub- 

 stance, for it does not melt on the fire ; on the contrary, 

 it is consumed by it. It is, however, converted into 

 honey and wax in the body of the Bee, probably by adding 

 to it another substance, peculiar to this insect, and with 

 which we are unacquainted. 



§ 616. Many people kill the Bees of each hive every 

 year with the smoke of brimstone ; but experienced bee- 

 raisers prefer to let them live, allowing them, for their 

 sustenance during the winter, half the honey of the hive. 



§ 617. Ants, like Bees, live together in large societies, 

 composed of winged Males and Females, and of wingless 

 Working Ants. 



§ 618. The eggs of Ants are exceedingly small ,. of a< 

 white color, and look like the small grains of pounded 

 sugar. The larva is a Maggot, but is soon converted 

 into a Puppa, (cocoon,) which is white and soft, and is 

 carefully raised by the Working Ants. 



§ 619. The food of Ants consists chiefly of fruits, sweet 

 substances, living and dead insects, and also carrion. A 

 frog or a mouse thrown into an anthill, is in the space 

 of twenty-four hours converted by them into a thoroughly 

 cleaned skeleton. 



§ 620. The winged Male and Female Ants are seen in 

 the fine evenings of August and September, swarming in 

 the air in the form of columns. Soon after, however, 

 they lose their wings, deposite their eggs, and die, leaving 

 the Working Ants to take care of the eggs during the fall 

 and winter. 



§ 621. Ants are found in all parts of the world, but 

 differing in size and color. The White Ant, a native of 

 the East Indies, is celebrated for constructing conical 

 habitations of clay, often ten or twelve feet high. 



QUESTIONS ON SECT. XXXVIL 



600. By what are the Vein-winged Insects distinguished? 



601. YVhat do you know of their venom? 



602. Describe their larvae. 



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