A HUMBLE-BEE HOUSE 99 



populous colonies, it was pretty to see the numerous 

 workers busily flying in and out all round the house 

 day after day, sometimes till late in the evening. It 

 was interesting to watch them climbing the wire 

 tubes, to follow them into their nests, and then to 

 see them unburden themselves of their loads of 

 pollen and nectar. 



One great advantage in having so many nests 

 under one's eye at the same time was that there 

 was always something interesting going on in some 

 of them. In one the queen might be giving the 

 finishing touches to a cell in which she was about 

 to lay a batch of eggs ; in another the queen might 

 be repulsing the attacks of the workers on her new- 

 laid eggs ; and in a third a worker might be seen 

 injecting food into a wax-covered cluster of larvae, 

 or helping a baby brother or sister to creep out of 

 its cocoon. 



A very good time to watch the bees in their nests 

 was at night, for while they were liable sometimes 

 to be disconcerted by daylight, they completely 

 ignored the light of a candle, provided they were 

 not disturbed. At night, too, the full populations 

 gave the colonies a very gay and animated appear- 

 ance. It was a pleasant relaxation after the day's 

 work to sit on a chair inside the house and study 

 the various proceedings of the bees ; and the still- 

 ness of night was conducive to close observation. 



Except when I was making observations in the 

 day-time I kept the window covered with a thick 

 black blind. Without this the workers would have 



