20 THE HOME OF THE BEES. 



tain the pupa stage, and remain inactive until their full develop- 

 ment. They then cut their way out, and are ready to assume 

 their duties as workers, small females, males or queens. 



"It is apparent that the irregular disposition of the cells is 

 due to their being constructed so peculiarly by the larvae. After 

 the first brood, composed of workers, has come forth, the queen 

 bee devotes her time principally to her duties at home, the 

 workers supplying the colony with honey and pollen. As the 

 queen continues prolific, more workers are added, and the nest 

 is rapidly enlarged. 



"About the middle of summer, eggs are deposited, which 

 produce both small females and males." . . . ."All eggs laid 

 after the last of July produce the large females, or queens, and, 

 the males being still in the nest, it is presumed that the queens 

 are impregnated at this time, as on the approach of cold weather 

 all except the queens, of which there are several in each nest, 

 die." 



While the Humble bee in some respects shows much less 

 instinct than the solitary bees mentioned below, it stands higher 

 in the series, however, from having workers, as well as males 

 and females, who provide food for the young. The labors of 

 the Mason bees, and their allies, terminate after the cell is once 

 constructed and filled with pollen. The eggs are then left to 

 hatch, and the young care for themselves, though the adult bee 

 shows greater skill in architecture than the Humble bee. It is 

 thus throughout nature. Many forms, comparatively low in the 

 scale of life, astonish us with certain characters or traits, remind- 

 ing us of beings much superior, physically and intellectually. 

 The lower forms constantly reach up 

 and in some way ally themselves with 

 creatures far more highly organized. 

 Thus the fish-like seal reminds us 

 strikingly of the clog, both in the form 

 of the head, in its docility and great in- 

 telligence when tamed, and even in its 

 bark and the movements of the head. 

 The* parasites of the Humble bee are 

 numerous. Such are the species of 

 16. Meloe. Apathus, which so closely resembles 



the Humble bee itself, that it requires long study to distinguish 

 it readily. Its habits are not known, other than that it is found 



