12 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



class of bees where the females made holes 

 in the ground, and buried in each a ball of 

 pollen, in which one egg was laid. 



In another class the female buried a 

 mass of pollen in the ground, in which 

 many eggs were laid. The young from 

 these ate holes in the pollen mass and at 

 length formed about themselves cocoons, 

 which when vacated were stored with 

 honey by the bees that did not abandon 

 the nest, but continued to live in colonies 

 or families. This is still the method of 

 our bumble-bee whose race-childhood was 

 not so clever, and who did not get so far 

 along the road of progress as the hive bee. 

 Some of the bumble-bees added wax to 

 strengthen the covering to their nests and 

 even to build more cells. But they still 

 made primitive cup-shaped cells and it 

 was left to the honey-bees to perfect the 

 idea and construct waxen combs of hex- 

 agonal cells to contain their young and 

 their food. 



