33 



THE HUMBLE-BEE 



a 



of their honey, but some of the underground species, 

 namely, B. lapidarius, terrestris, and lucorum, con- 

 struct numerous waxen honey-pots as well. At first 

 only three or four of these honey-pots are made, and 

 they are a good deal narrower and less capacious 

 than the queen's honey-pot, but as the colony grows 



Fig. ii. Comb of B. lapidarius, showing two honey-pots brimful of honey. 



they are heightened, and their number is increased, 

 and may amount in a large nest to twenty or even 

 thirty : they are constructed at the side of the comb, 

 and are usually joined together, forming a single or 

 double row. In two colonies of lapidarius and one 

 of terrestris, in which I was able to find the remains 

 of the queen's honey-pot, I noticed that the first 

 new honey-pots had been built on top of it. The 

 honey in the honey-pots is always thin, showing 



