26 TREATISE ON THE 
an example of the union of chemistry and 
mechanism ; of chemistry, in respect to the 
venom which in so small a quantity can pro- 
duce such powerful effects; of mechanism, 
as the sting is not a simple, but a compound 
instrument. The machinery would have 
been comparatively useless, had it not been 
for the chemical process, by which, in the 
insect’s body, honey is converted into poison, 
and on the other hand, the poison would — 
have been ineffectual without an instrument 
to wound, and a syringe to inject the fluid.” 
Having noticed these particulars in the 
_ anatomical structure of the working Bee, as 
the general representative of the species, we 
shall next point out in what it differs from 
the conformation of the queen, and the male 
or drone. The queen is frequently styled 
by the naturalist, the mother Bee, and with 
great propriety, as it seems now ascertained 
that her distinguishing qualities have a closer 
reference to the properties of a parent, than 
to the province of a sovereign. Her body 
differs from that of the workers, it being con- . 
