





ee 
HYMENOPTERA. 
THe Order Hymenoptera comprises those insects which have 
four naked membranous wings, lying in repose horizontally upon 
the body, and intersected by a network of nerves. The name is 
derived from two Greek words—iyfy, a membrane, and TTEPOV; 
a wing. ‘The mouth is composed of two horny mandibles, jaws, 
and lips adapted for suction. 
It is amongst the Hymenoptera that we meet with the most 
industrious insects, some of which seem to possess real intelligence. 
These lttle animals offer the most admirable examples of socia- 
bility. Born architects, they construct dwellings marvellously 
contrived, which serve them, at the same time, as nurseries in 
which to rear their progeny, and storehouses in which to lay by 
their provisions. Nothing can equal the solicitude with which 
they watch over their young larvae, still incapable of motion. 
They form republics, governed by immutable laws, and make 
war against their enemies in order of battle. They have predilec- 
tions or antipathies for those who court their society, on account 
of the material advantages they derive from them. 
The Bees, the Humble Bees, the Wasps, and the Ants, are the 
best known types of this order of insects. Among the greater 
number of the Hymenoptera, the females are armed with a sting 
or lancet, a wound from which causes great pain. All these 
insects undergo complete metamorphoses. In the larva state 
they are incapable of motion and of obtaining food; but nature 
has provided in different ways for their preservation. They are often 
lodged and fed by the workers of the tribe, unfruitful females, 
which, with a self-denial very rare in nature, seem to have no other 







