1913 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 55 



abundant and better recognized hosts. By so doing the Psithyrus passes as one of 

 them and does not attract any particular attention when associating with them. 

 Coloration is very unstable in many species of Bomlus (and Psithyrus), for in- 

 stance, B. lapidarius, which in England is black with a red tail, has in many parts 

 of Europe three bright yellow bands as well, and there is a strong tendency towards 

 convergence in diiferent regions. In north-eastern Europe the convergence takes 

 the form of melanism. In Canada, dingy yellow with a black band or two and 

 occasionally a belt of red across the abdomen, is the favourite pattern, while in the 

 Caucasian Mountains the yellow bands tura white. 



I have made several attempts at domesticating bumble-bees. One of the most 

 successful of these has been by the use of an artificial domicile made by digging out 

 a cavity in grassy ground with a trowel and placing an artificial nest made of dead 

 grass in it. A wooden cover with a tin plate rim is placed over the nest and a 

 tunnel is made for the bees to go in and out with an iron implement driven through 

 the ground with a mason's hammer. This device has attracted the queens of Bombus 

 lapidarius in great numbers and also a few queens of several other species. It might 

 be successful in this country with some of the plentiful species. 



For studying the habits of bumble-bees I have, during the past two years, 

 employed a wooden hut on the shelves of which I have placed my nests in little 

 ■wooden boxes covered with glass. Each nest communicates with the outside by 

 means of a special wire tube, up and down which the bees soon learn to pass. When 

 the nest is small, one small box will hold it, but as it grows a larger one is placed 

 on top and later a third one, still larger, is added. For strong nests a fourth box 

 is needed. To keep the nest sweet and clean it is necessary to place a tray contain- 

 ing earth between the nest box and the end of the wire tube. A sheet of glass is 

 placed over the tray and the entering and departing 'bees can be observed passing 

 under it. The next slide shows a comb of Bomhus terrestris built in one of t^ese 

 nest boxes. In these boxes we can see everything that the bumble-bees do in their 

 nest, such as constructing the cells, depositing honey and pollen in theau, the feed- 

 ing of the young, the laying of the eggs, the spirited defence of the new-laid eggs 

 by the queen against the attacks of the workers who endeavour to devour them, 

 the hatching of the. young bees, which are often assisted by their older sisters in 

 their struggles to get out of their cocoons, and many other details. 



Bumble-bees occur further north than honey-bees. As they do not have to store 

 honey for the winter they can exist where the season is short and flowers compara- 

 tively scarce. The light nights of the arctic are an advantage to them, for they 

 work on the flowers as long as they can see and their furry coats help them to 

 withstand the cold. In the collection of humble-bees at the Central Experimental 

 Farm, Ottawa, are some specimens from Nottingham Island, in the Hudson Strait. 

 Species have also been recorded from the Boothia Peninsular, and I have seen a 

 specimen from Melville Island. There can be no doubt that bumble-bees inhabit 

 almost the whole of Canada, and that they play an important part in the preserva- 

 tion of the native flora. Several unknown species probably occur in Northern 

 Canada and I am anxious to get specimens of these for our collection, while speci- 

 mens from the better known regions, provided they arc sent in sufficient numbers, 

 are also likely to include interesting varieties and possibly novelties. 



The red clover, which is almost exclusively fertilized by bumble-bees, is an 

 important fodder crop to the Canadian farmer. In the Ottawa district there seem 

 to be more than enough bumble-bees to fertilise the red clover, but Mr. Morley 



