INSECTS 



35 



27. Characteristics and functions of the queen and the 

 drones. — Hont'ybees, though smaller than bumblebees, 

 resemble them in their general plan of structure ; that is, 

 both kinds of insects have a head, thorax, and abdomen, all 



Fig. 23. — Modern type of beehive. 



more or less covered with hair, and on the thorax are two 

 pairs of membranous Avings and three pairs of jointed legs. 

 In every colony of bees there is, except at rare intervals, 

 only one queen. The queen-bee (Fig. 24) can be readily 

 distinguished from all the other individuals in the hive by 

 her long, slender abdomen (Fig. 24). It is her sole busi- 



