socialinæ

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. A subfamily of the family Apidæ, including the genera Bombus and Apis, the species of which live in communities; the social bees. Each species is composed of three classes of individuals—males, females, and workers. They have the power of secreting wax, from which their cells are made, and the larvæ are fed by the workers, whose legs are furnished with corbicula or pollen-baskets. See cuts under Apidæ, bumblebee, and corbiculum.