138 DEATH'S-HEAD HAWK-MOTH. 



The celebrated M. Hiiber, and some other na- 

 turalists, affirm that this insect is in the habit of 

 entering the hives of the common domestic bee, 

 where it takes up its abode for a time, and regales 

 itself on the honey. That it should be attracted by 

 the smell of the honey, and even enter the hive in 

 search of it, might have been expected from the 

 predilection which most lepidopterous insects show 

 for that kind of food ; but it is not easy to under- 

 stand how a creature without offensive weapons, 

 and unprotected by any hard covering, can either 

 resist or survive the attacks of so many armed 

 assailants. This difficulty is increased when we 

 consider the result of one of M. Hiiber's experi- 

 ments : on introducing a Death's-head moth into a 

 box where a colony of humble bees (Bombus Mus- 

 corum) had established themselves, it was imme- 

 diately attacked, and so severely stung that it died 

 shortly after ; yet the sting of this insect is by no 

 means so formidable as that of the honey bee. 

 There is very little probability in M. Hiiber's con- 

 jecture, that the hostility of this irritable race may 

 be disarmed by the stridulous sound emitted by the 

 moth, which he supposes may possibly have an 

 effect similar to that produced by the queen. In 

 this country the moth is never likely to become so 

 plentiful as to occasion much damage ; at any rate, 

 an effectual remedy may be easily applied, by cover- 

 ing the opening into the hive with a wire grating, 

 having the apertures of such a size as to admit no 

 larger object than the proper inmates. 



