VI LIFE-HISTORY OF HUMBLE-BEES 271 



goes on to describe the foundation of the humble-bee family as 

 follows : At first the female humble-bee flies from flower to 

 flower sipping honey, then she seeks a place in which to 

 build her nest. When she has found a place, any suitable 

 hole, she carries into it moss, grass, leaves, hairs of animals, 

 and fine needles of the fir or pine, and builds a nest closed on 

 all sides, and provided with only a single opening directed 

 towards the rising sun, and usually concealed. Then she 

 collects honey and pollen, makes a cell of wax, fills it witli 

 pollen soaked with honey, and lays a pair of eggs in it. 

 From these larvas soon emerge, which grow rapidly, and 

 therefore require much food. The mother now toils ener- 

 getically day and night for the welfare of her children, by 

 day chiefly collecting, and feeding the larvse, by night biting 

 up and arranging the materials of the nest, coating it with a 

 wax-like material, and warming her young. She allows her- 

 self little rest, except when the weather is bad. At last, in 

 the beginning of May, or in some forms several weeks later, 

 the first young humble-bees creep forth. These are workers, 

 much smaller than the mother or queen — are in fact stunted 

 queens. They fly forth at once to collect honey and pollen, 

 which they bring into the nest. As long as there are but few 

 of these workers the mother continues to fly out also to the 

 fields and collect industriously, but afterwards she goes out 

 less ; she now remains much at home, laying eggs and tend- 

 ing them. At last she ceases entirely from going out, her 

 wings, as a rule, becoming useless. Some of the workers tend 

 their younger sisters, who are still in the cells, and feed 

 them, work at the construction of the nest, keej) it clean, and 

 lick and warm the young bees when they creep forth. The 

 workers raise a great humming if the nest is disturbed, and 

 defend it by stinging the invader. Thus the queen lives with 

 her handmaids several weeks, about three months, continually 

 adding to their number. As a rule, about July young of a 



