NATURAL HISTORY. 
239 
forded by nature. Were k not for the bee, 
thefe flowery fweets would be loft in “ the 
“ defert air,” or decline with the fading 
flower. All the various ufes to which wax 
is applied, would be loft to man, had uot 
the bee an exiftence. ! 
- % 
Genus IV. 
Cbarader. 
^ HE mouth has jaws, without any tongue. 
The horns contain more than thirty joints; 
► and the abdomen is generally joined to the 
body by a pedicle. 'I’he king is inclofed 
in a cylindrical flieath, compofed of two 
valves. 
7be ICHNEUMON. 
O; 
'NE dlflinguifliingand flriking charaiSler 
of thele fpecies of flies is, the almoll conti- 
nual agitation of their antennae. The name 
of Ichneumon has been applied to them, from 
the fervice they do us, by deflroying cate-- 
pillars, plant-lice, and other infers ; as the 
Ichneumon and mangoufle deflroy the croco- 
dile. The variety to be found in the fpecies 
of Ichneumons is prodigious among the 
fmaller 
