;o 



THE HUMBLE-BEE 



ii 



cover as many cocoons as possible ; at the same 

 time her outstretched legs clasp the raised cocoons 

 at the sides. In this attitude she now spends most 

 of her time, sometimes remaining for half-an-hour 

 or more almost motionless save for the rhythmic 



Fig. 9. Nest of B. terrestris showing the groove in which the Queen sits. 

 In the Frontispiece the Queen is seen incubating the brood. 



expansion and contraction of her enormously dis- 

 tended abdomen, for nothing is now needed but 

 continual warmth to bring out her first brood, of 

 workers. 



In every nest that I have examined the direction 

 of the groove is from the entrance or honey-pot to 

 the back of the nest, never from side to side. By 



