Family of the Honey-Bee. 2g 



FAMILY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 



The honey-bee belongs to the family Apidse, of Leach, 

 ■which includes not only the hive bee but all insects which 

 feed their helpless larvas on pollen, pollen or honey, or 

 food digested or secreted by the adult bees. 



Many authors separate the lower bees, principally 

 because of their shorter tongues, from the others, under 

 the family name, Andrenidse. In this case all the bees are 

 grouped as Mellifera or Anthophila Latr. I shall group 

 all bees in the one family Apidse, and regard the Andrense 

 and their near relatives as a sub-family. The insects of this 

 family all have branched or plumose hairs on some portion 

 of the body, broad heads, elbowed antennas (Fig. 2, «?,) 

 which are thirteen jointed in the males and only twelve 

 jointed in the females. The jaws or mandibles (Fig. 42), 

 are strong and usually toothed. The tongue or ligula, 

 called labium by some authors, is very long and slim in the 

 higher genera, but short and flattened in the lower ones. 

 The second jaws or maxilla (Fig. 35, m a:), are long and 

 prominent, and ensheath the tongue, with which they are 

 folded back when not in use, once or more under the head. 

 All the insects of this family have, on the four anterior 

 legs, a stiff spine on the end of the tibia (Fig. 46) the 

 fourth joint of the leg from the body — called the tibial spur, 

 and all except the genus apis, which includes the honey-bee, 

 in which the posterior legs are without tibial spurs, have 

 two tibial spurs on the posterior legs. Nearly all bees — 

 the parasitic genera are exceptions — have the first joint of 

 the tarsus of the posterior legs much broadened (Fig. 47), 

 and this, together with the broad tibia, is hollowed out 

 (Fig. 47), forming quite a basin or basket — the corbicula 

 — on the outer side, in the species of Apis, Nomada, Tri- 

 gona and Bombus, which basket is deepened by long stiff 

 hairs. These receptacles, or pollen baskets, are found only 

 in such bees as gather much pollen. A few of the Apidse 

 — thieves by nature — cuckoo-like, steal unbidden into the 

 nests of others, and here lay their eggs. As their young 

 are fed and fostered by another, such bees gather no pol- 

 len, and so like drone bees need no organs for collecting 



