HYMENOPTERA. 



357 



cocoon inside. All around the cradles are large round cells, entirely 

 different in form from the cradles, in which the honey is stored. It 

 is probable that the males, the workers, and the females, live together 

 in great harmony, and even that there is in each 

 nest more than one female, for the absence of the 

 sting must prevent any combats. If a few cakes 

 of the Melipona's honeycomb are moved into the 

 hollow of a tree, they always found there a new 

 colony. We may conclude from this that the p. 



.workers procure for themselves females whenever a spedes^'f ^Mdipona. 

 they want them by means of a special sort of food. 

 The savage inhabitants of the American forests collect this honey ; 

 but, with the carelessness of uncivilised man, they at the same time 

 destroy the nests of these precious insects. They have now begun 

 to domesticate certain species of Meliponas, by introducing them into 

 earthen pots or wooden cases. These insects have been brought to 

 Europe, but they have always perished in the first cold weather. 

 During the summer of 1863 there was, in the Museum of Natural 

 History of Paris, a nest of Melipoiia scutellaris from Brazil, but it did 

 not prosper. 



The Humble or Bumble Bees. 



If in the month of March one passes through the fields, which are 

 beginning to get green, or through the woods, still deprived of their 

 eaves, there may be seen, hovering hither and thither, great hair) 

 nsects, resembhng gigantic bees. These are the females of a species 

 )f bee, called by the French " bourdons,'' from the buzzing noise 

 hey produce; and by us "humble bees," probably from their German 

 lame "hummel," given for the same reason. These females have 

 )een awakened by the spring sun. They examine the cavities of 

 itones, the heaps of moss, and the holes in banks, &c., seeking for a 

 uitable spot to construct a nest for their progeny. 



The humble bees are of the same family as the bees, whom they 

 esemble in their organisation. Like them, they are divided into 

 aales, females, and neuters, or workers. But their companies only 

 1st a year. At the end of autumn the whole population has become 

 :xtinct, with the exception of the pregnant females, which pass the 

 wnter in a state of torpor at the bottom of some hole, where they 

 ^i^ait till the spring to perpetuate their race. Their societies comprise 

 ;enerally only a small number of individuals, from fifty to three 

 undred. They are of peaceful habits, tlieir ephemeral existence 

 •eginning and ending with the flower season. 



