so THE-HISTORY.OF BEES, 
‘dart, and Mr. Baker + has obferved the fame number in 
that of a Bee. oy baeis1g aso tts ted? ap rotten 
-. The mufcles of the sheath a are, slings by ubisiee 
fily enters the ficth of man or, beafte i: bas hasstasss 
© From the whole it is plais, that what appears.darting 
forth from the body of the Bee, is not properly'the fting, 
but only the fheath wherein itis inclofed.. “Andvit is ea- 
fy to tell when the infe&t fhoots forth this inftrument, . 
(tho’ neither feen nor felt) merely by the. imelig which 
is not in the leaft difagreeable. 
. Frequently I have obferved, when the infect ail thot 
forth this part, with an intention of revenge, or in: it’s 
own neceflary defence, at; oF near it’s extremity, a little 
‘drop of that poifon, which upon the firft puncture infi- 
nuates itfelf into the wound. Whence it is not: unrea- 
fonable to conclude, this alone, piercing or penetrating 
the fkin and Aeth, is fufficient to inject the faid -poifon, 
without the afiiftance of the two darts; yet thefe may _ 
be inflrumental in fixing it fafter inthe Aefh; as I have 
- oft beheld it, when tore off from the bedy of the Bee, 
working itfelf ftill deeper into the wound. © 
Thus have we (tho’ very imperfectly) viewed their 
principal parts; the feveral organs, or implements; na- 
ture has furnifhed them withal, for their fubfiftence and 
defence. Pe 
No le& indulgent has nature been to: them in eden. 
“£6 their drefs 5 their very raiment, ‘refembling the fineft 
velvet, bright and glittering ; their whole bodies covered 
with the moft curious hair, not unlike to the: richeft 
fhage, which greatly embellifhes every part, more ef- 
4 Baker's Misr, p. 210, eas a ‘ pecially 
