GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 29 
because this fact has considerable bearing on the health of 
the bees, when confined by cold or other causes, as will be 
seen further on. (639.) 
6S, “The nervous system (fig. 16) of the honey-bee, the seat 
of sensation and of the understanding, is very interesting, on ac- 
count of the profound difference which it presents when compared 
with the nervous system of the larva. The honey-bee, more per- 
fect in organization than the butterfly, begins as a larva deficient 
in legs, very much inferior to the caterpillar from which the but- 
terfly proceeds. It is very interesting to notice, that the drones, 
although larger than the workers, especially in the head, have a 
smaller brain. ‘This state of things coincides with the fact that 
the drones are not intelligent, while no one can refuse gleams 
of intelligence to the worker-bees, as nurses and builders.” 
—(Girard.) 
A 
Fic. 17. 
A, HEART OF THE HONEY-BER. B, RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 
(Magnified. From Girard.) 
69. The heart, or organ of the circulation of the blood, 
formed of five elongated rooms, in the abdomen, is termin- 
ated in the thorax, and in the head, by the aorta, which is 
