56 THE HUMBLE-BEE n 



is only because she fights with greater energy and 

 boldness than her adversary, the combatant that 

 shows fear, hesitation, or weakness being almost 

 always defeated. Consequently, if the foundress has 

 become enfeebled, or has been taken by surprise by 

 the interloper, she is very likely to lose her life. The 

 contest decided, the victor pays no further attention 

 to her vanquished antagonist, and, with an air of 

 relief and satisfaction, goes and cherishes the brood 

 with the greatest affection. 



In seasons when lapidarius or terrestris queens 

 are abundant, several of these duels may be fought 

 in a single nest, and in digging up nests in an early 

 sta^e I have often found the dead bodies of the 

 queens. They lie under the nest or near it, in the 

 cavity or tunnel. I once dug up a nest of terrestris 

 containing the remains of no less than twenty 

 queens : the tunnel was short with a conspicuous 

 entrance. On May 27, 191 1, I found two dead 

 terrestris queens in a nest with a short tunnel, the 

 mouth of which was small and completely hidden 

 under grass, which shows that the queens often find 

 the nests by scent. 



I think that the queens of the carder-bees seldom 

 enter one another's nests and kill one another ; 

 but that they may do so sometimes was proved by 

 my finding a dead derhajiieUus queen, as well as the 

 reigning one, in a derhamellus nest on June 3, 191 1, 

 this species being particularly plentiful that season. 



It may be asked, What causes the queens to fight ? 

 Investigations that I have made point to the con- 



