THE BEE. 15 



the Order has received its name, Hymenoptera, from 

 two Greek words, denoting the membranous structure 

 of these organs. To this Order belongs not only the 

 Bee, but also the Wasp, the Ant, and some other insects, 

 all remarkable for their highly developed instinct. 

 These minor groups are termed families ; and that 

 which includes the Bee is the family of Apidm, or true 

 Bees, — the Honey- or Hive-Bee being scientifically 

 known as Apis mellifica. 



The former designation {Apis) is that of its genus, 

 and the latter {mellifica) of its species ; but although 

 its specific name is derived from a Latin word de- 

 noting its honey-making properties, it is not because 

 it is the only species of Bee that produces this de- 

 licious substance (for there are others possessing the 

 same attribute), but it is because to us its hive-labours 

 render it par excellence the Honey-Bee. Once more, 

 then. Apis mellifica, the Honey-Bee, belongs to the 

 family Apidce, or true Bees, included in the Hymen- 

 opterous (membranous-winged) order, of the class 

 Insecta or insects, and in that subdivision of the Class 

 known as Metabola or Holomeiabola, in consequence 

 of the contained forms imdergoing a complete meta- 

 morphosis ; whilst (to complete our classification) the 

 Insecta themselves occupy the highest rank as a class 

 in that province of the A nim al Kingdom known as 

 the Articulata or Arthropoda (articulated feet), which 

 are in their turn included ia the great subkingdom of 

 Invertebrata, or animals not possessed of an internal 

 vertebrated skeleton. 



