1379
i
re ferred
a( ] n . —.to in the Old Testament . In all ages it has been an object ofatl( l Urat ? on a nd attention, on account of its industry, curious economy,
kind ° r ,'. 0( ’ v ' Gen. Char. — Labium filiform, composing with the jaws a] )0st e . P r °boscis, geniculate and bent downwards. First joint of thel as ,. nor tarsi large, much compressed. No spines at the extremity of theSp 1 °J e y s ' Upper wings with one radial and three cubital cells {Stark).v ers —Blackish. Abdomen of the same colour, with a trans-
l 0 . v - e fh'eyish band, formed by the down at the base of the third and fol-^6 segment {Stark).
le koney bee lives in societies, called swarms, consisting of fromc] a 11 t° thirty thousand individuals. Each swarm is composed of threec all I® individuals—viz. a female, males, and neuters. The female,
ierrn 9 ueen bee, is narrower and longer than the others. The males,0acl e . . drones, are smaller than the female, and are devoid of stings. Innve there are from 800 to 1000 drones. Towards autumn, when^eut Can °k no further use, they are destroyed by the neuters. Thei ri ers are termed working bees, and are by far the most numerous, sincei*' ve there are from fifteen to thirty thousand. They are inWe ^ ^’Wales whose ovaries are not developed, in consequence, as somek’liii s . u PP os ed, of the nature of the aliment with which they are suppliede m the larva state.
I'he
>«. B n! GESTlVE , SVST:EM of the animal consists of highly developed salivary organsCr 0)) a,l . n p w 'th the proboscis, of an oesophagus (which enlarges at one part, forminga, Kl fjiliQp UC ™ n y stomach, or honey bag), a proper stomach, small and large intestines,S| " n,i >ch 'Vessels. The latter open into the alimentary canal immediately behind thedefe r ^ 16 SE . XUAL system, in the male, consists of a pair of testicles, each havingHie ve e>lS i' "blcli terminates in a vesicula seminalis. Prom the conjoined extremities"lHatis C „ IC • ® proceeds a common duct terminating in a penis. The female genitalf f too or'rf St t wo ov aries made up of tubes, each containing about twelve ova;r °iR a ro f rom these ovaries terminate in a vagina, into which also opens a duct
ll'dy. j ^ n dish vesicle. The poison apparatus is found in the females and neutersC f Hnsists °f two thin convoluted secreting organs, opening into a pyriformk - °d$i(i’ k <)m . lv Uch a small duct passes to the sting, which consists of two portions, i|( Uo b e | ^ s '^ e ’barbed at the extremity and contained in a sheath. The poison isJ e Pain r an ^ a crid to the taste. The.consequences produced by the sting of a bee(..^e to 'atoi SS ’ Swe hing, aI1( l hardness of the part; and might prove fatal if a swarmr,ct '0n with l? 11 ’“dividual. The removal of the sting (if left within the wound), and^ “saliva, or with oil and hortshorn,is all the treatment usually required.
Vdl^-p-Old continent {Latreille.) In a state of nature they reside injT'cd • rees > but they are almost universally domesticated, and are pre-'rPicteq l ™ es - Curtis {Brit. Entomol. xvi. pi. 769) has described and1 6 dn ri a rema rkable instance of the nest of some hive bees attached toS’lam : atree - It was discovered in 1838 by Lord Malmesbury inPi(; es a tion near the river Avon.
Ur nish two products useful in medicine,—viz. honey and wax.
f <J 'Ve r ? 1>U ° Tl0N -—Honey {met) is secreted by the nectariferous glands ofJ )' snp’,. atl< I’ s collected by the working or neuter bees, who take it up'^hoi n : 1011 0r lapping, and pass it into the dilatation of the oesophagus'*tcd crop, sucking stomach, or honey-bag; beyond w Inch, vv eg , e > the honey does not pass, as it has never been found in thek. llla -ch. When the animal arrives at the hive, the honey is dis-