REARING BUMBLEBEES IN ARTIFICIAL NESTS. 



59 



Another feature of the artificial nest was the honey pot. 

 This was made from pure melted beeswax and modeled to 

 imitate in every respect the honey pot first constructed by a 

 nesting queen. I fastened this to the bottom of the nest by 

 means of melted wax, just about one half inch distant from the 

 pollen lump which was to serve as a future egg receptacle. 

 Diluted honey was used for filling the honey pot. Naturally, 



1 



FIG. 3. Start of the comb of Bremus vagans in artificial nest, showing: a, 

 artificial honey pot; b, first larval cells. June 21. 



all the wax used by wild bees is produced by them, but to make 

 conditions even more favorable I placed a few loose bits of pure 

 beeswax near the artificial honey pot for the use of the queen if 

 she so desired. 



Considering the artificial nest as described above with all its 

 parts, we find that it provides a queen with everything necessary 

 for starting and eventually developing a colony. The wax- 

 lined, cheese cloth chamber in the small wooden box in a general 

 way corresponds to and possesses the same advantages as the 



