ORDERS OF INSECTS. 



179 



the powerful defensive weapon known as the sting. The metamor- 

 phosis is complete. 



The Hymenoptera form a very extensive order, comprising the 

 Bees {Apid(s\ the Wasps ( Vespidw), the Ants {Formicidcc), the Gall- 

 flies {Ci/nipidce), the Saw-flies {Tenthredinidra, fig. 125), the Ichneu- 

 mons, and many other forms. The Bees, Wasps, and Ants are well 

 known as forming social communities, though solitary members of 

 the two former families are very common. 



In both groups these organised communities consist of a vast num- 

 ber of undeveloped females, or " neuters " — the so-called '' workers " 

 — presided over by a single fertile female, or "queen,'' or contain- 

 ing several such. The males are only produced at certain seasons, 



Fig. 125. — Hymenoptera. a Winged male of Ant ; fc Wingless worker of Ant ; c Pni a 

 of Ant ; d Larva of Ant, enlarged ; e The Great Saw-fly (Sirea; gigas), 



and they constitute the so-called " drones " of a hive of bees. The 

 workers discharge all the duties necessary for the preservation of 

 the colony, such as procuring food, building the nests, and feeding 

 the young. As there is only one set, or " caste," of neuters, the 

 duty of defending the nest falls to the lot of all the workers, and is 

 not delegated to a special class of soldiers. The queen is the founder 

 of the colony, and her sole function, after starting the community, 

 is to lay eggs. The drones, or males, do no work, as a rule, and 

 they either die, or are killed by the workers, as soon as the female 

 is fertilised. 



The Ants likewise form communities, consisting of males, females, 

 and neuters. The males and females, like those of the very different 

 " White Ants," or Termites, are winged (fig. 125, a), and are pro- 



