254 THE HUMBLE-BEE 



continued to work feverishly at the site, apparently 

 making a show of attempting to devour imaginary 

 eggs in it. The queen took very little notice of 

 them but pushed them aside when she came to add 

 wax, which she gathered hurriedly, chiefly from the 

 joints between recently-spun cocoons. During the 

 first hour the construction of the cell made very 

 little progress. At 11.30 p.m., however, it had 

 distinct walls. 



July 26, 6.30 a.m. There was a loud hum- 

 ming in the nest when I entered the bee-house, 

 and on looking at it I saw at once that something 

 unusual had happened. The whole colony was in 

 a state of uproar, and the workers were rushing 

 about shaking their wings. All trace of the cell 

 that was building last night had vanished. The 

 Psitkyrus was not to be seen anywhere on the comb, 

 but I soon discovered her in the tube leading to 

 the ground. She was drowsy, and her coat was 

 dishevelled and matted with moisture. I got her 

 out and dropped her into the nest. Immediately 

 the commotion increased threefold, and I perceived 

 that she was the cause of it. The workers were 

 infuriated with her, and half-a-dozen rushed after 

 her and hunted her into a corner where they all set 

 upon her and tried to sting her. She struggled 

 feebly and ineffectually. I rescued her and put her 

 into the vestibule. Here, however, five minutes 

 later, I found the workers had followed her ; one of 

 them had a wing of the Psitkyrus tightly clasped in 

 its jaws and was trying to sting her with all its might. 



