RELATIVES 
17 
my family was ever known to fight 
when away from its nest, unless it 
was first injured in some way. We 
are not quarrelsome; we simply try 
to defend ourselves.” 
“Well, it is a good thing,” said 
the ant, “that we hymenoptera all 
have the power of stinging. If it 
were not for that, we should come 
to grief more frequently than we do.” 
“Oh, yes,—hymenoptera,—that is 
what I wanted to talk about. Can 
you tell us, Miss Ant, why we are 
called by that long, hard name ? ” 
asked the wasp. 
“Yes, I heard the man say that it 
was taken from two Greek words, 
one meaning a membrane or skin, 
and the other a wing. All of us, 
