J12? 
i AVIS, the bet', in zoology, a genus of in- 
sects belonging to the order of insecta hy- 
I inenoptera. The mouth is furnished with 
two jaws, and a proboscis enfolded in a dou- 
ble sheath ; the wings are four in number, 
the two foremost covering those behind when 
at rest ; in the anus or tail of the female and 
working bees, there is a hidden sting. These 
insects are distinguished into several species, 
each of which has its peculiar genius, talent, 
manners, and disposition. Variety prevails 
I in the order of their architecture, and in 
> the nature of their materials. Some live in 
■ society, and share their toils ; such are the 
f common bee. Others dwell and work in 
( solitude, building the cradles of their families, 
as the leaf-cutter bee does with the rose-tree 
leaf, the upholsterer with the gaudy tap.es- 
try of the corn-rose, the mason bee with a 
plaister, the woodpiercer with sawdust. 
All are employed in their little hermitage, 
with the care of providing for their off- 
spring. The species enumerated by Lin- 
naus, are no fewer than 55 ; of which the 
following are the most remarkable: 
1. Apis Brasilianorum, or pale red hairy 
bee, with the basis of the thighs black. This 
is a very large bee, every where covered 
j with a testaceous skin. It is a native of Ame- 
j rica. 
I 2. Apis cariosa is a yellowish hairy bee ; 
and the feet and front are of a bright yel- 
j low colour. It builds in the rotten trees of 
j Europe. 
3. Apis centuncularis, leaf-cutter, or 
| black bee, having its belly covered with yel- 
low down. The nests of this species are 
made with leaves, curiously plaited in the 
j form of a mat or quilt. There are several 
varieties of the leaf-cutting bees, all equally 
industrious. They dig into the ground and 
build their nests, of which some have the 
form and size of thimbles inserted one within 
another, others the size and shape of goose 
quills. These nests are composed of pieces 
of leaves. Each sort of bees cut into its own 
materials ; some the rose-tree leaf, others 
the horse-chesnut. A careful observer may 
discover rose-tree leaves, cut as with a pinking 
iron ; and there he may procure himself the 
pleasure of seeing with what dexterity a bee, 
destitute of any mathematical instrument, 
cuts out a circular piece, fit to be either the 
bottom or the lid of one of those nests ; others 
it cuts out into ovals and semi-ovals, which 
form the sides of the nests, into each of which 
it deposits one egg with ready-prepared vic- 
tuals. 
4. Apis dentata, or shining green bee, 
with black wings, and a kind of teeth on the 
hind thighs. .The tongue of this bee is as 
long as its body. 
5. Avisftrrruginea, or smooth black bee, 
.with the feelers, mouth, belly, and feet, of 
an iron colour. This is a small bee, and sup- 
posed to be of an intermediate kind be- 
tween the bee and wasp. It is a native of 
Europe. 
6. Apis Jlorisomnte, or black bee with a cy- 
lindrical incurvated belly, having two tooth- 
like protuberances at the anus, and a kind of 
prickles on the hind legs. This bee sleeps -in 
.flowers; whence the name. ' 
7. Apis lapidnria, or red hairy bee, with 
a yellow anus, builds jn holes of rocks. 
8. Apis niuscoruin, or yellow hairy bee 
w ith a white belly, builds in mossy grounds. 
APIS. 
The skill displayed by these builders is ad- 
mirable. In order to* enjoy the pleasure of 
seeing their operations, let a nest be taken 
to pieces, and the moss conveyed to a dis- 
tance. The bees will be seen to form them- 
selves into a chain, from their nest to the 
place where the moss has been laid. The 
foremost lays hold of some with her teeth, 
clears it bit by bit with her feet (which cir- 
cumstance has also procured them the name 
of carding bees), then, by the help ofher feet, 
she drives the unravelled moss under her 
belly; the second, in like manner, pushes 
it on to the third, d’hus there is formed an 
uninterrupted chain ofmoss, which is wrought 
and interwoven with the greatest dexterity by 
those that abide by the nest ; and that their 
nest may not be the sport of the winds,' and 
may shelter them from rain, they throw an 
arch over it, which they compose with a kind 
of wax, which dissolved in oil of turpentine, 
may be used in taking off impressions. 
9. Apis rostrata is distinguished by the 
upper lip being inflected and of a conical 
shape, and by the belly being invested with 
blueish belts. They build their nests in high 
sandy grounds, and there is but one young in 
each nest. 
10. Apis terrestris is black and hairy, 
with a white belt round the breast, and a 
white anus ; it builds its nest very deep in the 
earth. 
11. Apis variegata: the breast and belly 
are variegated with white and black spots*; 
the legs are of an iron colour. In Plate Nat. 
Hist. fig. 25, 26, and 28 are represented the 
kirsuta, nidulans, and socialise and fig 27 is 
a section of the nest of the nidulans. 
12. Apis vio’acea is a red bee, and very 
hairy, with blueish wings. The violacea is said 
to perforate trees, and hollow them out in a 
longitudinal direction ; they begin to build 
their cells at the bottom of these holes, and . 
deposit an egg in each cell, which is composed 
of the farina of plants, and honey or a kind of 
gluten. Plate Nat. Hist, fig 29. 
13. Apis melliiica, the domestic honey 
bee. This wonderful insect requires a three- 
fold description ; under its various characters 
of queen bee, drone bee, and working bee ; 
for though this last kind is, strictly' speaking, 
the only honey bee, yet all the three kinds 
are found and seem to he necessary in every 
community or hive of bees. The drones 
may easily be distinguished from the com- 
mon or working bees : they are both larger 
and longer in the body: their heads are 
round, their eyes are full, and their tongues 
short. The form of the belly differs trom 
those of both queen and common bees ; and 
their colour is darker than either. They 
have no sting, and they make a much greater 
noise when living, than -either the queen or 
the common bees; a peculiarity of itself suf- 
ficient to distinguish them. If a hive is 
opened in the beginning of spring, not a 
single drone will be found Jn if; from the 
middle of May till the end of June, there will 
be found commonly trom 200 or 300 to 
1000; but from August to the following 
spring it would be in vain to seek for them. 
They go not out till 1 1 in the morning, and 
return before six in the evening. But their 
expeditions are not those of industry'. Their 
rostrum and feet are not adapted for collect- 
ing wax and honey, nor indeed are they oblig- 
ed to labour. Thev only hover upon dowers 
*Q 2 J 
to extract the sweets, and all their business 
is pleasure. Their office is thought to be to 
impregnate the eggs of the queen after they 
are deposited in the cells ; and while their 
presence is thus, necessary, they' are suffered 
to enjoy life; but as soon as they become 
useless in the hive, the working bees declare 
a war of extermination against them. This 
war affects not only the drones already in 
life, but even the eggs and maggots in the 
drone cells; for after the season proper for 
increasing the number of bees is past, every 
vestige of the drones is destroyed, to make 
room for honey. Mr. Bonner, however, 
one of the latest and best writers on the sub- 
ject, doubts the long established doctrine of 
the fecundating powers of the drones. He 
urges the following, among many, arguments: 
“ That the queen stands in no need of their 
assistance to fecundate or impregnate her, 
appears from this consideration ; that she lays 
eggs, which produce young bees, without 
having had any previous communication with 
the drones. 1 will not, however, suppose 
that the drones are of no use in the hive ; but 
that the queen lays eggs which produce 
young bees, without so much as seeing a 
drone, I can with the utmost confidence af- 
firm. The advocates for the old doctrine, 
that the drones are males, allege, that they 
impregnate (he queen, before their brethren 
kill them. According to this theory, she 
should continue for no less a period than 7 
or 8 months, with about 12,000 impregnated 
eggs in her ovarium, w hich would certainly 
make her appear very large during the whole 
of that period. But it is unnecessary to 
w r aste arguments in refutation of this doc- 
trine, as I have repeatedly had queens breed 
and lay eggs, and those eggs become bees, 
although these queens were bred 7 months 
after all the drones were dead, and some 
weeks before any new ones were hatched. 
These experiments, I think, are sufficient to 
silence ah the arguments advanced by the 
advocates for the drone system. Mr. De- 
braw, indeed, creates little drones, and gives 
them pow'er to live all the year-* and to im- 
pregnate the queen at pleasure. But as 
room does not permit me to narrate the ex- 
periments whereby he attempts to prove 
this, I shall content myself with stating his 
sentiments in as few w ords as possible. I le 
asserts, that, besides the common large 
drones, which every person acquainted with 
bees, knows at first sight, there is a small 
kind of drones, w hich are, to all appearance, 
like the common bees, there being no visible 
difference, except that they have no sting, 
which he discovers by immersion in water, 
and pressure. After relating an experiment 
i on < his head, he says, ‘ J once more immers- 
ed all the bees (of a small swarm) in water, 
and when they appeared t© be in a senseless 
state, I gently pressed every one of them be- 
tween my fingers, in order to •distinguish 
those armed w ith stings from those that had 
none, which last I might suspect to be males. 
Of these I found fifty-seven exactly of the 
size of common bees, yielding a little whit- 
ish liquor on being pressed" between the 
fingers/ In answer to this, I shall here nar- 
rate an experiment I made several years ago. 
On the 1st of Sept. 1788, I took all the bees 
out of a hive that was breeding very fast, and 
in which I found only four drones : these 1 
killed. I jmt the bees into a hive that had 
