Y AY 
leigh icles: 
Tue title, scheme, and some of the contents of 
this book are borrowed from a little treatise 
printed on a stencil copying apparatus in August 
1892. 
The boyish effort brought me several naturalist 
friends who encouraged me to pursue further the 
study of these intelligent and useful insects. Of 
these friends, I feel especially indebted to the late 
Edward Saunders, F.R.S., author of Zhe Hymen- 
optera Aculeata of the British Islands, and to the 
late Mrs. Brightwen, the gentle writer of Weld 
Nature Won by Kindness, and other charming 
studies of pet animals. 
The general outline of the life-history of the 
humble-bee is, of course, well known, but few 
observers have taken the trouble to investigate 
the details. Even Hoffer’s extensive monograph, 
Die Hummeln Stevermarks, published in 1882 and 
1883, makes no mention of many remarkable 
particulars that I have witnessed, and there can 
be no doubt that further investigations will reveal 
more. 
