II 



52 THE HUMBLE-BEE 



seen the workers of B. terrestris attack the new-laid 

 male and queen eggs, but in a much less determined 

 manner. 



The young males leave the nest as soon as they 

 are able to fly, and do not return again for food or 

 shelter. Their life, though idle, is brief, and does 

 not last more than three or four weeks. The young 

 queens may sometimes be seen returning to the nest, 

 occasionally with pollen on their legs, but they too 

 soon leave it for good when they get mated, and 

 seek their winter quarters. 



As the old queen ages she gradually loses her 

 hair. First, the greater part of the abdomen, and 

 then the mesonotum, or central part of the thorax, 

 become more or less bald. The queens of terrestris 

 lose their hair more rapidly and completely than 

 those of any other species that I have observed. 



With advancing age the queen's prolificness falls 

 off rapidly, and she is often scarcely able to lay 

 enough eggs to keep the workers fully employed ; 

 some of the latter then lay eggs which, however, 

 produce males only. A laying worker quickly loses 

 much of the hair on its abdomen, and by this means 

 may often be discovered. Some species, particu- 

 larly lapidarius and terrestris, are more liable to 

 develop laying workers than others, and in a normal 

 nest of terrestris, even while the queen is still pro- 

 lific, eggs may often be found in the undersized 

 workers with malformed wings that never leave 

 the nest ; but I believe that these eggs are seldom 

 developed and laid. Although I once caught a 



