IV 
PARAS DES AND ENEMIES OF THE 
HUMBLE-BEE 
Many kinds of small animals, chiefly insects, are to 
be found in humble-bees’ nests. Some of these are 
chance visitors, with no particular business there, 
but others are dependent in some way upon the 
humble-bees, and several belonging to this class are 
very injurious to them, devouring the larve and 
pupe. 
Of the latter kind one of the most destructive is 
the caterpillar of the humble-bee wax-moth (4phomza 
soctella). It feeds upon the brood of the humble- 
bee and probably everything else that can be eaten 
in the nest. The full-sized caterpillars are 1 in. to 
14 in. long, pale olive-green above and yellow 
beneath, with the head and first segment orange- 
brown above. They weave a loose web about 
themselves into which they can retreat, safe from 
molestation by the humble-bees. They are very 
active and can run backwards as well as forwards. 
A hundred of these caterpillars—a nest infested with 
them seldom contains fewer, sometimes many more— 
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