The True Bees 



The larvae when full grown spin a silk cocoon and transform 

 to pupae, in which stage they remain from two to three weeks 

 and then transform to perfect bumblebees. The bees emerge 

 from the cocoon after gnawing a lid about its apex. As soon as 

 the bee has left, the other workers cut away the upper half of the 

 cell and remove the debris, and the part which is left furnishes a 

 receptacle for nectar and honey as it is brought into the nest. 



In early August, all the bees up to this time having been 

 workers with the exception of the original queen, females, or 

 queens, and males, or drones, begin to emerge. Within a few 

 days both sexes leave the old nest and do not return. 



The method adopted by Coville for the study of this species 

 is an easy and convenient one and is worthy of description. A 

 box about three inches deep and large enough to contain a nest 

 (a good-sized cigar-box will do) was provided with a glass cover 

 and a small hole was cut in the side. In this box in the early 

 summer a nest taken from the field was placed and the aperture 

 was closed for a day. The box was then fitted in below a 

 window-sash so that the bees could come and go on the outside 

 without annoying the observer, who remained in the room. In 

 collecting the nest, which had been found during the day, the 

 observer started for the field just before dark, after all the bees 

 were in, provided with a cigar-box, a bottle of chloroform, a pair 

 of forceps and a gauze-covered, wide-mouthed bottle. He 

 approached the nest, poured a little chloroform over it, waited 

 until the humming had ceased, opened the top of the nest, picked 

 out the bees with the forceps and put them in the bottle, the 

 nest with the "comb" being placed in the cigar-box. The bees 

 revive after being placed in the permanent box, and the chloro- 

 form, if used moderately, does not kill the larvae. 



The study of the life of a colony of bumblebees will be found 

 to be a very interesting one, especially if observations are made 

 upon the parasites and guest insects, or inquilines, which are 

 frequently found in these nests. Many interesting points as to 

 unimportant habits, especially as they bear upon the question of 

 inherited instinct or intelligence, may be observed in this way. 

 For example, these bees are very cleanly in their habits. Their 

 faeces are always deposited in a particular place outside the nest. 

 Some of the guest bees frequently found in bumblebee nests 

 belong to the genus Apathus, or Psithyrus, as it is now called. 



15 



