228 THE HUMBLE-BEE 



could not have gathered enough during the day to 

 keep her animated through the night. On lifting 

 off the cover at 7.5 P.M. I found her animated, and 

 rather excited at being disturbed, buzzing a good 

 deal, and going in and out of her nest. By pressing 

 back the material over the entrance to the nest I 

 caught sight of the honey-pot which was almost 

 empty. I then, with a fountain-pen filler, injected 

 some syrup which had been prepared for feeding 

 honey-bees, into the honey-pot. As I was doing 

 this I could feel the queen angrily biting the tip of 

 the filler. Directly I withdrew the filler I saw her 

 tongue in the syrup sucking it up, and it remained 

 in this position for quite half a minute. Then the 

 queen retired to her brood, but occasionally I saw 

 her head stretch towards the honey-pot to take a sip. 

 She seemed greatly gratified at finding her pot full, 

 and sipping from it seemed to be a pleasure which 

 she liked to repeat. 



June 28. Another stormy day. I filled the 

 honey-pot at 7.50 p.m. The queen was less alarmed 

 than on the previous evening, and drank the syrup 

 eagerly, taking it from the filler. 



June 29. At 7.20 p.m. I went to feed the queen. 

 On lifting the cover I was alarmed to see three or 

 four ants (Lasius niger) crawling on the nest 

 material. Investigation showed that others were 

 running up and down the tunnel and in and out of 

 its mouth, and even over the honey-pot into the 

 nest. Having had the young brood in two of my 

 nests, one of them but three yards distant from this, 



