196 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



instead of downward, or horizontally, or bent at right angles, with cer- 

 tain of the cells on the convex side having their bases enlarged, and 

 those on the concave side having theirs diminished. The honey bee 

 naturally and habitually collects its nectar from flowers, but this doe& 

 not prevent it from recognizing any sweet fluid, like the sap of sugar 

 maples, or the honey-dew deposit of aphids, and appropriating such 

 sweets with greediness. Nor does it have any instinctive repulsion to 

 the nectar of certain flowers, such as the tulip and some other bulbous 

 plants, which produce upon it toxic effects ; rather it seems to seek 

 them with greater avidity. 



The Humble and Carpenter are not deterred from obtaining the 

 nectar from flowers whose slender tubes exclude their bulky bodies. 

 They first take a peep inside, and then, with lightning like rapidity, 

 make an incision at the base of the tube, through which they can dip 

 the nectar with the greatest ease. In this matter the honey-bee shows 

 a singular lack of enterprise, for I have often seen it buzzing confusedly 

 over a flower whose nectary was out of reach without the slightest 

 impulse to cut through from the outside, and yet after an opening had 

 been made by some other insect, it would follow the latter in probing 

 through the opening. And this is what it does in the case of ripe 

 grapes, which it is so often accused of injuring. So far as present 

 experience goes, the birds or wasps or larger bees do the cutting, and 

 the honey-bee merely follows to claim its share of the sweets. I will 

 ojily add a few instances of the capacity of insects to avail themselves, 

 of the labor or products of other animals to lighten their own toil. 



As is well known, only the large female of the Humble bee lives 

 over winter. In the spring it is her duty to excavate in the earth a- 

 small cavity for the reception of the mass of honey and pollen upon 

 which she places her first eggs. But in localities where moles or field 

 mice abound she saves herself the labor of digging by selecting a 

 deserted nest or portion of a tunnel, and adapts it to her domiciliary 

 purposes. In the same way, a small potter wasp, which originally built 

 its cells in the hollow stems of weeds, and had, of course, first to cut 

 into them, now makes use of all small orifices, like nail or screw-holes, 

 or the key-holes of furniture, if it can gain admission to our rooms. 



One of these little creatures once afforded me much entertainment, 

 and enabled me to thoroughly study its habits, by one day appearing 

 on the sill of an open window, beside which I was sewing, and begin- 

 ning an investigation of the spindle holes of my spools. Finally she 

 seemed to make choice of the largest, for, flying away, she returned in 

 a short time with a pellet of moist clay with which she dived into the 

 hole. This was repeated several times, after which she began bringing 



