the bee. 
317 
CHAP. XXXVIII. 
Of the fourth order of Insects — The Bee — Foreign Bees 
The Humble Bee — The Wood Bee — The Mason Bee 
The Ground Bee — The Leaf-cutting Bee — The Wall Bee 
— The Wasp — The Solitart/ Wasp — The Ich NEUMON 
Fly — The Ant — The white, green and black Ants— 
77ie Beetle — The Mai/ Bug — The Tumble-dung — The 
King of the Beetles— The Elephant Beetle — The Glow- 
worm— The Cantharides — The Kermes — The Cochineal 
— The Gall Insect — The Gnat — The Tipula. 
In the foregoing part we treated of caterpillars changing 
into butterflies; in the present will be given the history of 
grubs changing into their corresponding winged animals. 
These, like the former, undergo their transformation, and 
appear as grubs or maggots, and at last as winged insects. 
Some of these have four transparent wings, as bees ; some 
have two membraneous cases to their wings, as beetles ; and 
some have but two wings, which are transparent as ants. 
Th e Bee. Of this insect the account given us by Reaumur 
is sufficiently minute ; and, if true, sufficiently wonderful : 
but many of the facts which he relates were doubted by those 
who are most conversant with bees ; and some of them ac- 
tually declared not to have a real existence in nature. 
It is unfortunate, therefore, for those whose method de- 
tnandsan history of bees, that they are unfurnished with those 
materials which have induced so many observers to contradict 
so great a naturalist. His life was spent in the contempla- 
tion ; and it requires an equal share of attention, to prove the 
error of his discoveries. Without entering, therefore, into 
the dispute, we will take him for our guide; and just men- 
tion those particulars in which succeeding observers have 
begun to think him erroneous. 
There are three different kindsof bees in every hive. First, 
thelabouring bees, which make up thcfargreatestnumber,and 
are thought to be neither malenor female, but merely born for 
ft'e purposes of labour and continuing the breed, by supply- 
ing the young with provision, while yet in their helpless state. 
I he second sort are the drones ; they are of a darker colour, 
longer, and more thick by one third than the former : they are 
su pposed to be the males ; and there is not above a hundred 
