MS THE HUMBLE-BEE 



J 



angry buzz and out rushed a terrestris queen ! 

 Next morning at 7.0 this queen was seen at the 

 mouth of her tunnel busily trying to bite off bits 

 of roots and grass and dragging all the loose pieces 

 she could find into the hole. Carefully regarding 

 her I saw that the indentations in her wings cor- 

 responded with those that I had sketched of the 

 queen that I had put into this nest five days 

 previously ; so there was no doubt about her 

 identity. I dropped bits of nest material and grass 

 roots close to her, but when she discovered these 

 she got alarmed, and spreading her wings she flew 

 straight away, fortunately without seeing me. At 

 7.30 p.m. she was again at home, and I noticed that 

 the nest material that I had dropped had been 

 drawn into the mouth of the tunnel, which was so 

 much choked with it that it was rendered quite 

 inconspicuous. 



On June 17 I made an examination of the nest 

 and found that the honey-pot I had provided had 

 not been utilised, and that the nest had been made 

 in quite a different part of the nest-material. There 

 were nine cocoons, larger than usual for the first 

 batch, with some eggs on top of them and the 

 honey-pot close by. 



On the same day, wishing to get a photograph 

 of a queen sitting on her brood, I selected this one, 

 and after catching her in my net I carried the nest 

 to a suitable spot for taking the picture. To make 

 a satisfactory exposure it was necessary for the 

 queen to sit still for about half-a-minute, and several 



