278 
NATURAL niSTORY 
BEE. 
The Bee is about three quarters of an inch 
in length, having four curiously shaped 
wings, with strong fibres around and across 
them; it has six legs, a long head, small 
neck, and very slender in the waist, or mid- 
dle part. The eyes urc very large, and 
covered over with a thick horny membrane, 
which occasions the dimness of its sight. 
Nature has furnished it with two sorts of 
instruments for war and defence, viz., the 
mouth, wherein are several teeth, that meet 
sideways, and the sting which is in its tail. 
The sting is tapering and sharp ; the tongue 
is much longer than the mouth will contain, 
and so is doubled underneath. The hive 
generally contains from three to ten thousand 
insects. The only female retained in a 
swarm or hive, is designated the queen Bee, 
and is larger than the rest of the tribe. 
