190 
THE HUMBLE-BEE viIt 
taken many nests, always on the surface of the 
ground, and frequently in long grass on roadside 
banks. It 
FIG. 28. 
Diagram of co- 
coons in a com- 
mencing nest of 2, 
derhamellus (hori- 
zontal section). 
commences to nest earlier than any 
of the other carder-bees, even than 
agrorum. The cocoons are deep 
yellow, and the wax is very dark. In 
1911 I found three nests in a suff- 
ciently early stage to ascertain the 
number and position of the cocoons 
in the first batch. In each “ae 
they numbered eight, and they were 
arranged symmetrically in exactly the same manner 
—two in the middle, forming the bottom of the 
queen’s seat, and three on either side, at a higher 
level, forming its sides, as shown in the diagram 
(Fig, 23). 
The queens are very fond of white dead-nettle ; 
this is one of the few species I have seen visiting 
the flowers of the ground ivy, epeta glechoma. 
