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II Y MEN 0PTER A. 
THE HYMENOPTERA. 
Ix the Order Hymenoptera we find a number of 
insects, remarkable not only for beautiful modifi¬ 
cations of structure, but for the possession of highly 
developed instinct and reasoning powers. Many 
are excellent architects, and build dwellings marvel¬ 
lously contrived. They are especially fond of their 
young, which they watch over, and feed and rear with 
the utmost solicitude. They form governments, carry 
on systematic wars, capture slaves whom they constrain 
to work for the good of the body politic, and are 
remarkable for their social qualities. The order has 
just claims to occupy the first rank amongst the other 
orders of the Insect world. 
The Bee, Wasp, Ant, Ichneumon, and Gall-fly belong 
to this order, and they have attracted the attention of 
man from very remote periods. The wings are always 
four in number; the abdomen of the females is 
furnished either with an ovipositor in the shape of a saw 
or an auger, or with a venomous sting. All undergo 
complete metamorphosis : the larvae, in most cases, are 
footless grubs, and live in cells provided for them ; they 
are for the most part dependent on the food supplied to 
them by their parents; but the Saw-flies exhibit 
striking differences, their larvce, being provided with 
legs like those of the Lepidoptera, are able from earliest 
infancy to procure their own food. 
The Ilymenoptera arc divided into two sections, viz., 
the Terebiiaxtia and the Aculeata. In the former the 
