II 



LIFE-HISTORY OF BOMBUS 



The story of the life of the humble-bee is largely 

 that of the queen. From start to finish she is 

 the central and dominating personage upon whose 

 genius and energy the existence of the race depends. 

 For she alone survives the winter, and, unaided, 

 founds the colony in which she takes the position 

 of its most important member. 



The queen is raised in company with many 

 others in July or August, the rearing of the queens 

 being the final effort of the parent colony. 



Fertilisation is the first important event in the 

 queen's life. This takes place in the open air as a 

 rule, but there are good reasons for supposing that 

 it can be accomplished within the nest. The young 

 queens are shy and show themselves very little. 

 The males course up and down hedgerows, or 

 hover over the surface of fields and around trees, 

 in the hope of finding their mates. Each species 

 has its particular kind of hunting-ground. 



If, on a warm day in the month of July, one 

 takes up a position, out of the wind, in a partial 



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