iiEES. 63 



dark entrance, and cannot ascertain what force is posted at 

 the other end, it will be too much alarmed at the streng-th 

 of the defences to attempt to break through. We may see 

 an analogous fact to this in the conduct of one of the soh'- 

 tary mason-wasps, which to escape the visits of the dreaded 

 ichneumon-fly, as it digs its hole in soft stone, uses the 

 fragments to build a long tunnel at the entrance of its 

 nest. The ichneumon very soon discovers the nest, and 

 travels round it several times, peeping most cautiously into 

 the dark, narrow passage, evidently in considerable doubt 

 whether the inhabitant of the nest is at home or not. 

 Often the wasp returns from a caterpillar-hunting excur- 

 sion, and finds its winged enemy hovering* about' its nest, 

 but afraid to venture its life down the treacherous-looking 

 tunnel. Whatever guard is used at the entrance of the 

 hive cannot fail to incommode the bees, as it will onty 

 suffer two bees to pass at one time, and the inhabitants of 

 a strong hive may be seen pouring* out from the entrance 

 in numbers. It must, therefore, be made in such a manner 

 that it can be removed at pleasure. When spring comes, 

 and the enemy is nowhere — to them at least — they joy- 

 fully clear all away to facilitate the important events of the 

 time. Dr. Be van mentions an anecdote that goes far to 

 show that bees possess memory and language. A colony 

 had been attacked in 1804 by the sphinx, and suffered 

 through its tardy preparations. In 1807 the moth re- 

 appeared, when the bees immediately constructed fresh ram- 

 parts. Now, working-bees do not live more than a year 

 at tiie outside, therefore the particulars of that awful year 

 must have been conveyed from generation to generation, 

 or the queen must have reigned over the hive from 1804, 

 and have been the means of rousing the community of 

 1807 to the danger they experienced. Language and 

 memory appear equally indispensable in either case. Be- 

 side the sphinx, the honey-moth and the honeycomb-moth 

 attack bees, and more cunningly than the spbinx, as well 

 as more successfully. They are so small that they can get 

 into the hive sometimes, notwithstanding the vigilance of 

 the guards, and deposit their eggs in the combs. 



These little moths, called galleria moths, are small, of a 

 light brown colour, and can run with great rapidity. When 



