§ I.] PRELIMINAR V REMARKS. 87 



etc. In the course of our descriptions we shall fre- 

 quently refer to the steel engravings, Plates I. and II., 

 drawn by Mr. E. W. Robinson, artist to the Entomo- 

 logical Society of London, who has most carefully dis- 

 sected bees we sent him for the purpose, subjected these 

 dissections to the microscope, and skilfully produced the 

 accompanying illustrations, which will so much assist the 

 purpose we have in view. These delineations are so 

 clear that a little explanation will suffice to impart a full 

 understanding of the various parts of the bee. 



Because the bee is so small an insect we are not to 

 neglect investigating its organisation. " The bee is little 

 among such as fly, but her fruit is the chief of sweet 

 things." The enlightened Boyle, when contemplating 

 the wonders of Nature, declared that his astonishment 

 had been more excited by the mite than by the elephant ; 

 and that his admiration dwelt "not so much on the docks 

 as on the watches of creation." * 



The Figures i, 2, and 3, in Plate L, respectively 

 represent the exterior forms of the queen, the worker, and 

 the drone. They are thus coloured for the purpose of 

 illustrating the Yellow Italian Alp, or Ligurian bee, now 

 deservedly held in such high estimation by bee-keepers, 

 and of whose good qualities we have already remarked. 

 All the bees constituting a stock may not be of quite so 

 bright a colour as those represented : the old bees differ 

 in appearance from the younger ones — darkened bodies 



* Dr. Bevan. 



