In the hive-bee and among ants, on the other hand, there are constant structural distinctions between queen and worker, and the function of the queen bee in a hive is confined to egg-laying, the labour, of the community being entirely done by the workers.
The hairy covering, so notable in the hive-bee and especially in humble-bees, is greatly reduced among bees that follow a parasitic mode of life.
In our well-known hive-bee (Apis) and humble-bees (Bombus) the wax glands are ventral FIG.
With Apis, the genus of the hive-bee, we come to the most highly-specialized members of the family - better known,perhaps, than any other insects, on account of the long domestication of many of the species or races.