THE INDUSTRIES OF WILD BEES 



283 



The workers, unlike those of the hive-bee, are not dis- 

 tinguished by any external peculiarities of structure. The 

 numbers of the family are far inferior to those of the 

 hive-bee. A humble-bee's nest which contained three 

 hundred individuals would be unusually populous. 



In spring a queen which has survived 

 the winter begins by herself to found a 

 new community. Having chosen a spot 

 to her taste, which may be either a 

 hole in a bank or the bare surface of 

 the ground, according to the habits of 

 the species, she constructs a rude nest 

 or shelter, lays a thin plate of wax, 

 and deposits upon it a small heap of 

 pollen mixed with honey. Upon this 

 one egg is laid. She then builds up a 

 low cylindrical wall of wax, joined to 

 the basal plate ; within this more pollen 

 and honey are stored, and additional 

 eggs laid. The sides of the cell are then 

 carried a little higher, and at length 

 the top is carefully sealed. Other cells 

 may be added to the first, with which 

 however they are only slightly con- 

 nected. After some days the larvae 

 hatch out, and soon consume the food 

 laid up for them. The queen then le Fl ^ f ' 

 pierces a hole in the wall of the cell, ternai side, with pollen- 

 passes her tongue in through the hole, basket> ma s nified - 

 and feeds the larvae carefully, closing the hole when 

 the operation is finished. The numbers of the family 

 increase very slowly, for the whole of the labour has at 

 first to be performed by a single individual, but the first 

 brood which hatches out consists of workers, who relieve 

 the mother of a great part of her work ; after they appear 

 the queen spends less time abroad, and lays eggs more 

 frequently. The first cells are constructed as early as 



