LIFE-HISTORY OF BOMBUS 27 



inch across, but in the morning after it has been 

 emptied the orifice is larger, the height of the pot 

 being reduced. The honey contained in the honey- 

 pot is of much thinner consistency than that stored 

 by honey-bees, from which a great deal of water has 

 been removed by evaporation before it is sealed 

 over. On a favourable day the queen fills the 

 honey -pot in a very short time; in my nests of 

 B. lapidarius I have often found it brimful at 

 9 o'clock in the morning. It takes the queen several 

 days to complete the building of the honey-pot 

 because of the large amount of wax it requires, but 

 the honey is deposited in it as soon as it is large 

 enough to hold any. Before the honey-pot is made, 

 or afterwards, if the honey-pot is full, the queen may 

 occasionally discharge her load of honey on to the 

 floor, and sometimes also on to the roof of the nest. 

 Although the honey soaks into the nest-material she 

 is able to suck up much of it during the night; what 

 remains on the floor is evaporated by the heat of 

 her body, leaving a sticky residue which glues the 

 nest-material, together and helps to make it im- 

 pervious to moisture. 



In several nests of B. lapidarius and one of B. 

 hortorum I found that the construction of the honey- 

 pot was not begun until after the lump of pollen had 

 been made, and I think that this is usually the case. 



The eggs hatch four days after they are laid. 

 The larvae are maggot-like, being hairless and leg- 

 less, and as they begin to grow they assume a curled 

 shape, which is maintained until they are about to 



