38 THE bee-kbepbk's guide; 



or reason that enables these flies to gauge the number of their 

 eggs to the size of the larva which is to receive them, so that 

 there may be no danger of famine and starvation 7 For true 

 it is that while small caterpillars will receive but few eggs, 

 large ones may receive several. Even the honey-bee some- 

 times falls victim to such parasites, as I shall show in speak- 

 ing of enemies of bees. How strange the habits of the saw- 

 fly, with its wondrous instruments, more perfect than any 

 saws of human workmanship, and the gall-flies, whose poison- 

 ous stings, as they fasten their eggs to the oak, rose, or other 

 leaves, cause the abnormal growth of food for the still un- 

 hatched young. In the South it is reported that bees often 

 obtain no small amount of nectar from species of oak-galls. 



The providing and caring for their young, which are at 

 first helpless, is peculiar among insects, with slight exception, 

 to the Hymenoptera, and among all animals is considered a 

 mark of high rank. Such marvels of instinct, if we may not 

 call it intelligence, such acumen of sense perception, such 

 wonderful habits, all these, no less than the compact structure, 

 small size and specialized organs of nicest finish, more than 

 warrant that grand trio of American naturalists — Agassiz, 

 Dana, and Packard — in placing Hymenoptera first in rank 

 among insects. As we shall detail the structure and habits of 

 the highest of the high — the bees — in the following pages, I am 

 sure no one will think to degrade the rank of these wonders of 

 the animal kingdom. 



FAMII<Y OF THE HONBY-BEB. 



The honey-bee belongs to the family Apidae, of Leach, 

 which includes not only the hive-bee, but all insects which 

 feed their helpless larvae on pollen, pollen or honey, or food 

 digested by the adult bees. 



Many authors separate the lower bees, principally because 

 of their shorter tongues, from the others, under the family 

 name, Andrenidre. In this case all the bees are grouped as 

 Mellifera or Anthophila Ivatr. I shall group all bees in the 

 one family Apidse, and regard the Andrense and their near 

 relatives as a sub-family. The insects of this family all have 

 branched or plumose hairs on some portion of the body, broad 



