Means of defenck. 217 
Lucy. What are neuters ? You never 
spoke of them before. 
Mother. Because they appear to be pe- 
culiar to this order. The neuters are in- 
sects, which, as far as naturalists have yet 
discovered, are neither male nor female : 
they seem to be intended merely for la- 
bour, as you will see when you become 
better acquainted with bees and ants. 
The bodies of flies belonging to this 
order are much shorter and thicker than 
in the order neuroptera, and both the fe- 
males and the neuters are armed with 
stings. 
Lucy. I think you said that none of 
the flies in neuroptera could sting? 
Mother. True ; none of them are pro- 
vided with stings : but some species have 
strong jaws, with which they can pin6h, 
though they seldom make that use of 
them, unless in self defence. 
Lucy. Have the flies of hymenoptera 
jaws as well as stings ? 
Mother. Yes, but they only employ 
their jaws in building their nests, and in 
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