ioo THE HUMBLE-BEE vi 



had a great deal of difficulty in learning how to 

 find their way up and down the tubes. 



A jar threw all the colonies into an uproar, the 

 workers crowding together and tumbling over one 

 another in their excitement ; but they soon quieted 

 down. Of course, as no bees could escape inside 

 the house, there was no risk of getting stung. At 

 first the least vibration caused a commotion ; later 

 on, however, the bees became accustomed to slight 

 jars, and as a rule they took no notice of them, but 

 occasionally, in some of the nests, the alarm would 

 be raised by a worker or two, and it then quickly 

 spread through the colony. 



Frequent panics seemed to check the prosperity 

 of the colonies : I therefore kept them as quiet as 

 possible, and I made the door of the house to open 

 noiselessly with a spring fastener so that my going 

 in and out did not cause any disturbance. 



It was necessary to remove the vestibule in 

 order to clean it. To prevent the bees escaping 

 when taking it away I slipped a strip of tin-plate 

 over the hole in the bottom section. When I 

 wished to confine the bees for a day or two, the 

 tin-plate was slipped between the vestibule and the 

 entrance tube. Sometimes I wanted to confine the 

 queen and not the workers to the nest : this was 

 done by substituting for the tin-plate a thin board con- 

 taining a slot too small for the queen to escape, but 

 large enough to permit the passage of the workers. 



By taking care to avoid jarring and breathing 

 upon the bees, I could always lift the glass off a 



