THE HONEY-BEE. 159 



blackish-brown abdomen ; -while the dark thorax is clothed with 

 tawny hairs posteriorly. The drones are said to be dark-brown 

 marked with yellow (these I have not seen) ; and the queen is 

 leather-coloured. The comb of A. dorsata is often six feet long 

 and four feet wide ; it hangs from branches of trees, ledges 

 of rock, and in crevices of rocks. The comb is similar to that 

 of our honey-bee, but the layers are placed closer together. 

 It is extremely abundant in the jungles of India. A distinct 

 variety, A. zonata, with large broad abdomen, dusky black 

 except at the base, and with a thick tawny pubescence on the 

 thorax, is also recorded from India and the East Indies. Apis 

 florce (Fab.) is quite distinct ; it is a small delicate bee,- with 

 much tawny yeUow at the base of the abdomen, the tip being 

 dusky brown with two pale bands in the middle. Mr Sladen 

 sends me a beautiful variety, andreniformts (Smith), which is 

 deep brownish-black, with two pale silvery bands in the middle 

 of the abdomen. The stings of A. florcs and A. indiea are 

 very small. 



In Mauritius and at E^union is a doubtful species, A. uni- 

 color, which produces green honey. There are several others 

 of doubtful specific characters, with which we cannot deal 

 here, enough having been said in relation to the species of 

 ApidcB. 



All the members of the genus dealt with above live in per- 

 manent colonies. There are three individual forms — the perfect 

 female or queen, the imperfect female or worker (wrongly called 

 a neuter), and the male or drone. The queen's sole function is 

 to lay eggs ; her ovaries are very large, and nearly fill the 

 abdomen. The female is longer than either drone or worker ; 

 her mouth-organs are not so fully formed as in the worker : the 

 tongue, labial palps, and maxillae are much shorter, and the curious 

 pollen-baskets on the hind-legs are absent. The queen sting is 

 curved like that of a Humble bee, and has fewer barbs than 

 that of the worker. The drones or male bees are found in 

 the summer. The presence or absence of drones depends on 



