WILD BEES 43 



latest thistle blossom is secured against the risk 

 of scattering its downy filaments innocuously on 

 the wind. The humble bees, like the hive species, 

 do not, however, thrive in all localities ; this is 

 perhaps due to the absence of particular flowers in 

 certain districts ; it is remarked that the hive bees 

 will not prosper in a locality which does not produce 

 an abundance of white clover a plant upon which 

 they largely depend for supplies during the swarming 

 season. 



No one is likely to confuse the humble bee with 

 the hive bee, the smoother body and small size of 

 the latter being in strong contrast with the large 

 rough-looking and very hairy body of the former. 

 The thick covering of hair on the body of the humble 

 bee, besides its use in pollen collecting, is intended 

 to be a protection against the weather, and it indicates 

 the climatic distribution of the family. The genus 

 Bombus is essentially a cold climate form, and it is 

 particularly associated with the north temperate 

 zone. The bees have, however, managed to extend 

 themselves far beyond these limits ; their familiar 

 boom being heard all round the world, and at both 

 sides of the equator. In Europe they fly as far' 

 north as Lapland, and in Asia they extend from 

 Northern Siberia to the confines of India. Most of 

 our species are found in North America, and some 

 of them in the southern continent. They are, how- 

 ever, entirely unknown in Australasia. The native 

 bee which takes their place in Australia is a puny 

 stingless weakling, resembling the aborigines, even 

 to the extent that it is being rapidly exterminated 

 by a higher civilization, progress being represented 

 by the hive bee imported from Europe. But to 



