HISTORY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BEE. ------------ PART I. --<>-- CHAPTER I. HISTORY AND PHYSIOLOGY. +The Bee+ is considered by Naturalists as belonging; to what are called perfect societies of insects, and, in entomological arrangements, is placed in the order Hymenoptera, genus Apis. Of this genus there are many species; Linnæus has enumerated 55; in the Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles 70 species are characterized; and Mr. Kirby, in his Monographia Apum Angliæ, has described above 220, natives of England. The species to which I shall principally call the attention of my readers is the _domestic_ +honey-bee+. Every association of bees comprises three descriptions of individuals; and each description is distinguished by an appearance and cast of character peculiar to itself. "First of the throng and foremost of the whole, One 'stands confest the sovereign and the soul.'" This couplet may, to a limited extent, be applied to other kinds of bees; but it is more peculiarly applicable to hive-bees, as amongst them there has never been found, in any single family, more than one acknowledged regnant chief, usually designated by the name of Queen; of whom, as having the highest claim to our attention, I shall first proceed to speak. The +queen+, who is at once the mother and the mistress of the hive, differs, as Mr. Hunter has observed, from the royal chiefs of other insects, such as hornets, wasps and humble-bees; for the chiefs of these latter societies seem to _work themselves into royalty_, whereas the queen of the hive-bees _reigns from her very birth_. She is distinguishable from the rest of the society by her majestic movements, by the great length of her body, the proportional shortness of her wings, and her bent sting. Her body tapers gradually to a point, her fangs are shorter, her head is rounder, and her trunk not half so long as that of the working bee. Her wings extend only half the length of her body, but are strong and sinewy. Her colours also distinguish her as much as her shape; they are much more distinct; the back is of a much brighter black; the concentric rings on the under side of her body are darker, and the lighter interstitial part of the same region appears of a brighter and more lively hue. The legs also are of a deep golden yellow colour.