312 



BRITISH BEES. 



such intrusion, although, like these, they have many ene- 

 mies. In the very earliest spring months these Bombi 

 are abroad; for as soon as the catkins of the sallo\v 

 are ripe for impregnation, they are on the wing. But 

 it is now that the large females only are at work, for 

 they have to create their companions before they can 

 he surrounded by them. Their fruition is the result of 

 the previous autumn's amours, at a period too late to 

 form sufficient stores for the numerous brood thev will 



*/ 



produce, and accordingly, after revelling in a brief honey- 

 moon, they resort, like staid matrons, to a temporary 

 domicile, some cavity just large enough for themselves. 

 In this retirement they pass the cheerless wintry months, 

 requiring perhaps the incubation of time thoroughly to 

 mature their fruit. Whether this be the case or not, as 

 soon as the earth begins to feel the warmth of the sun 

 upon its return from its far southern journey, and to 

 respond to the renewed vitality it gives to vegetation, 

 these bees feel its active influence and come forth. "With 

 the progress of the spring and summer most flowers are 

 exposed to their rifling, but they revel upon the elegant 

 flowers of the Horse-chestnut, and their hum is the 

 music of the lime when it is in blossom. According to 

 the species, they select a cavity for their nest, or con- 

 struct it upon the surface of the ground, this being the 

 case with the CARDER-BEES, which gather moss to con- 

 struct their residence. In those which inhabit beneath 

 the surface, the selection of an already formed cavity 

 greatly abridges their labour, and their instinct prompts 

 them to choose one sufficiently large for the prospective 

 community, but the nest itself is gradually extended in 

 size suitable to their progressive increase in numbers. 

 All that the parent female does at first is to form a 



