153 



CHAPTER VIII. 



A NEW ARRANGEMENT OP BRITISH BEES, WITH ITS 

 RATIONALE, AND AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FAMILY, 

 SUBFAMILIES, SECTIONS, AND SUBSECTIONS. 



If perfection of instinct, and an organization exquisitely 

 moulded to a complete adaptation to the many delicate 

 and varied functions of that instinct, as well as to the 

 exercise of every faculty incidental to the class, be cer- 

 tainly a proof of pre-eminence, we may justly claim this 

 position for the Order Hymenoptera. There is no cha- 

 racteristic in which they are deficient, nor any in which 

 some of the members of the Order do not transcend in 

 aptitude the insects of all the others. 



If they have not been placed at the head of the class 

 Insecta, it has been because systematic convenience did 

 not permit the transposition, on account of the inter- 

 ruption it would have caused to the convenient linking 

 of the rest in a consecutive arrangement. Yet are they 

 the most volatile fliers, the most agile runners, the most 

 skilful burrowers, and consummate architects. 



The beauty resulting from the combinations of sym- 

 metry of form, elegance of motion, brilliancy of colour, 

 and vivacity of expression, is to be found exclusively 



