CH. V.] THE HUMBLE BEE. 83 



It is very probable, that, alone and unattended, 

 the female lays the foundation of the future little 

 village, and that its inhabitants are all her own off- 

 spring. The hive bee must have a ready-made ex- 

 cavation for the reception of its comb — the humble 

 bee raises its dwelling from the foundation. There 

 is nothing imposing in its exterior : on the contrary, 

 a tuft of moss, six or seven inches high, and buried 

 seemingly in a clod, conceals all that is dear to these 

 little creatures. A closer inspection shows, that the 

 mossy filaments are carefully interlaced, and so 

 nicely put together, that not a grain of dirt is inter- 

 mingled with its texture. This light vault, although 

 two or three inches thick, is scarcely capable of 

 sheltering the young from the wind and rain ; and 

 to remedy this defect, its inner or concave surface 

 is lined with a species of cement which effectually 

 excludes the wet. If a nest be watched, one of its 

 inhabitants will be soon seen to bury itself in a 

 mossy hole, perhaps a foot from the nest itself. 

 This is the entrance of a covered and secret way, 

 leading to the inside of the habitation. Should the 

 curiosity of the observer overcome his reluctance to 

 destroy the patient labour of the humble bee, he will 

 have an opportunity of observing the mode in which 

 it works. The nest is always placed in the midst 

 of the material from which it is to be constructed, 

 and Reaumur never was able to detect any of its 

 inhabitants bringing moss from a distance : rather 

 than do so, the bee repairs the vault with material 

 taken from the covered way, and even choosing to 

 do without it altogether, rather than forage for moss. 

 In some instances they seem to be led by instinct to 

 vary their proceedings. Thus, Mr. P. Huber, having 

 placed a nest of humble bees under a bell-shaped 

 glass, stuffed the interval between its bottom and 

 the irregular surface on which it rested with a linen 

 cloth : the bees, finding themselves in a situation 

 where no moss was to be obtained, tore this cloth 



