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Show 168 INSECTA. • . f an .l nter mediate s1ze, be· f the males are 0 f the labourers, and celts. The cells o eceding and those ~ e their combs from f the pr nunu tween those 0 1 Bees always co h' ks and apertures of h . and t 1ere. 1. ttle c 1n placed e1 e They stop the 1. h. ch they collect from above downwards. . s of masuch, w 1 . '1 with a spec1e their domlc 1 alled propolis. . . of summer out of the different trees, ck lace in the begmmfng le returns to it with 1 t" n ta es P the ema Copu a 1° d" g to M. Huber, the e:x.tremity of her . d accor 1n ttached to . · 11 b1ve, an· ' 1 rgnns of the male a . 'ngl e c1 ec undation v1v1fies a the gen1ta oI t 1. S thought that th1S sl f years and perhaps 0 tWO , abdomen. lay in the course the different batches she may Sh produces the ·e ggtsh e w h o1 e of her life. e t cease laying till autum. n. durmg . on aud does no. female in the sprmg . ra id success! ' ber lald by a . d m p r est.u nat es the num t twe1 v e thousand. Gutd.e R~a· umut he space of twenty days ak es no m '!stake in selecung durln? b her instinct she ~a however, as where the unerrmgly y . ells. Someumes, 1 eggs in one. . propr1ate c h laces severa then· ap . ot sufficient, s e p . All those which tal number lS n ake a selecuon. ~he labourers subsequent~y m roduce labourers and are hatched . the ensuing sprmg p she lays 1D · · 'n four or five days. . eir larvre with patee in q~antlh~s 1 Bees tak e care to furmsh thd on w h'l C h they cling wtth thetr ro ortioned to their age, an Six or seven days after. they are ~od~es curved into an arc. er o their metamorphosis. .shut d they prepare to und g h close the orifice wtth a ~at~:et;eir cells by the labo~r::s o; t:eir domicil with a. tis~ue p r d they line the panet h nd at the expuatJOn convex 1 ' become nymp s, a ' The ' f 'lk spin a cocoon, h . their perfect state. o 51 ' d issue fort 10 • d r that f about twelve ays, t the vacant cells, m or e . o · t 1 clean ou Thts labourers immedla e y r the reception of another egg. d they may b e pi· epared 1or 'th the royal eel1 s ; t h e y are destro.y.e however w1 Th e gs contammg is :o~e~e o':esse constructed if nhecelsst::Y· and tl~os: of the female an d two mont s a ' males are produce ticular soon after the l~tter. enerations forms so many par the This succession of g colonies, and known by . . red to form new d s three or commumtles, prepa 'n le hive sometimes pr~ uce . h from arne of swarms. A Sl g 11 Those whlch wetg h n lways sma · t 0 muc r r• but the last are a p· ding themselves o 1 ,ou ' d re the best. m their nata six to eig~t p~u~ ~:bitation, they frequently leav~e loss with confined m t eir . . timate to the owne.r . locality. Particular signs m HYMENOPTERA. 169 which he is menaced; he endeavout's to prevent it, or to profit by the emigration. Dreadful combats sometimes take place among Bees. At a particular epoch in which the males become useless, the females having been fecundated-from the month of June to that of July-the labourers put them to death, extending the carnage even to the larvre and nymphs of that sex. Bees have enemies both external and internal, and are subject to various diseases. The intelligent apiarist bestows particular attention on these animals, carefully selects, among the different kinds of hives that have been invented, that which is the least expensive in its construction, and the best adapted to preserve and rear them; he studies their habits, foresees the accidents with which they are threatened, and never has occasion to regret his labour and trouble. The origin of the attention bestowed upon Bees is lost in the remotest antiquity. With the ancient Egyptians the Bee was the hieroglyphic emblem of royalty. The true Bees at'e only found in the eastern continent; and those of southern and eastern Europe, and of Egypt, differ from those that inhabit France, which have been transported to America and other places where they at·e now naturalized. The species found in the Isle of France and in Madagascar -.11. unicolor, Lat.-produces honey called vert or green, that is held in great estimation( 1 ). The last subgenus of th~ social Apiarire, or MELIPONA, Illig. Lat.-Trigona, Jur. Is distinguished from the preceding one l)y the form of the first joint of the posterior tarsi, which is narrowed at base, or has the figure of a reversed triangle, and is destitute of strire on the silken brush of its inner side. There are but two complete cubital cells in the superior wings, while in the Bees there are three, the last linear and oblique(2). These Hymenoptera are found in South America. They construct their nests on the tops of trees, or in their hollows. ( 1) For the other species, see Lat., in the Obs. Zoo!. et Anal. of Messrs Hum. boldt and Bonpland. (2) Those species, in which the mandibles are not dentated, are the M.ELIPON.IE properly so called. Those, in which they are, form the genus TRIGONA. See my Gener. Crust. et Insect., IV, 182. VoL. IV.-W |