62 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BEE. 



small openings through the side of the insect, but so 

 very small that they can only be seen with a power- 

 ful microscope. 



But then there are many thousands of different 

 kinds of little creatures which have these points of 

 resemblance, and which therefore belong to the great 

 class of Insects. Consequently the next thing which 

 has been done in the way of arrangement has been to 

 divide this great class into smaller, but yet very large, 

 divisions, or ' Orders,' as they are called, y 



Y This has been done by arranging them, chiefly, 

 according to the number and character of their wings. 

 I will not give you the names of all these orders of 

 insects ; it would only confuse you. But, as ex- 

 amples, all kinds of Beetles are put into one order, 

 called Coleoptera, because the wings of all beetles 

 have a hard peculiar sheath. 



All kinds of Butterflies and Moths are put into 

 another order, and are called Lepidoptera, because 

 their wings are covered with a beautiful kind of scale- 

 like dust, the scales being laid one over another like 

 the tiles of a house. \^ 



And then we have the order of insects called 

 Diptera, so called because they have only two wings, 

 instead of four, — an order including the common fly, 

 gnats, and many other such-like insects. 



And then we have another great and important 

 order, in which come Bees, Wasps, Ants, and many 

 other insects, which go through a complete trans- 

 formation. And as this order includes our bees, 

 you must try and remember the long hard name by 

 which it is called — Hymenoptera — so called because 



