130 HYMENOPTERA. 



brood-cells. The brood-cells are hexagonal ; they are not 

 deep, and the young ones, when ready to burst their casement, 

 just fill the whole caAity. The mother bee is lighter in color 

 than the other ]>ees, and elongated at the abdomen to double 

 their length." Smith also states that the female of this genus 

 has the abdomen greatl}' distended, reminding one of the 

 gravid female of the White Ant. (Smith, Proc. Ent. Soc, 

 London, Dec. 7, 1863.) 



In North America, our nearest ally, as regards its habits, of 

 the true Honey-bee, is the Humble-bee (Bombns), of which 

 over forty species are known to inhabit North America. 



The economy of the Humble-bee is thus : the queen awakens 

 in early spring from her w inter's sleep beneath the leaves or 

 moss, or in deserted nests, and selects a nesting-place generally 

 in an abandoned nest of a field-mouse, or beneath a stump or 

 sod, and "immediately," according to Mr. F. W. Putnam, 

 "collects a small amount of pollen mixed with honey, and in 

 this deposits from seven to fourteen eggs, gradually adding to 

 the pollen mass until the first brood is hatched. She does not 

 wait, however, for one brood to be hatched before laj'ing the 

 eggs of another ; but, as soon as food enough has been collected, 

 she lays the eggs for a second. The eggs [Plate 4, Fig. 2] 

 are laid, in contact with each other, in one cavity of the mass 

 of pollen, with a part of which they are slightly covered. They 

 are very soon developed ; in fact, the lines are nowhere dis- 

 tinctly drawn between the egg and the larva, the larva and 

 pupa, and again between the latter and the imago ; a perfect 

 series, showing this gradual transformation of the 3'oung to the 

 imago, can be found in almost every nest. 



"As soon as the larvie are capable of motion and commence 

 feeding, they eat tlie pollen by which they are surrounded, and, 

 gradually separating, push their way in various directions. 

 Eating as they move, and increasing in size quite rapidly, they 

 soon make large cavities in the pollen mass. When tlie}^ have 

 attained their full size, they spin a silken wall about them, 

 which is strengthened by the old bees covering it with a thin 

 layer of wax, which soon becomes hard and tough, thus form- 

 ing a cell. [Plate 4, Figs. 1, 2.] The larvae now gradually 

 attain the pupa stage, and remain inactive until their full devel- 



