342 



Marvels of Insect Life. 



about for a deserted mouse's nest or other suitable retreat, and lays the foundations 

 of her colony that is to be. This may be on the surface, protected by grass or moss, 

 or underground at the end of a tunnel — often a yard long. Different species have 

 their own special tastes in this matter. 



The humble-bees are not nearly so eminent as wax- workers as are their cousins 

 of the hive, for they build no proper combs. They produce little wax, and that 

 exudes from under the rings on the back, not from the under surface as in the 

 honey-bee. The wax, too, is brown in colour, and much softer than that 

 of the honey-bee. 



It is the custom to speak of the fertile female humble-bee as a queen, just as 

 one speaks of her equivalent in the hive ; but there is a great difference between the 



Humble-Bees. 



Here are shown tht- three- forms common to all the species of humble-bees. The more burly figure to the left is tli.it of the female 

 or " mother." To the right is a worker, and below is a male or " drone." The community consists mainly of the workers. The 

 figures are one and a half times the natural size. 



two. The queen-bee is a mere layer of unlimited eggs : she is too regal to be 

 domestic. We prefer to speak of the founder of the humble-bee colony by the higher 

 title of mother-bee. She is a real mother, with the maternal instincts highl\- 

 developed. Unaided she lays the foundations of the family, incubates her eggs, 

 nestles and feeds her brood, and when she has raised a bevy of infertile daughters 

 to help her, she still takes part in all this work so long as her physical powers allow 

 her to do so. Having selected a suitable site, she sets to work to prepare the nest. 

 If it is an abandoned nest of the field-mouse, she probably finds it already provided 

 with material suited to her use. This will consist of half-rotted grass, finely divided 

 and cut into short lengths. The mouse is very particular in the selection of material, 

 taking the withered blades from the base of a tussock and dividing them lengthwise 



