INSTINCTS OF BEES. 327 



had felt it during any part of the summer, and 

 the bees were as active within the box." 



M. P. HUBER of Lausanne, in his Observations 

 on Humble-bees^ published in the sixth volume of 

 the Linnaean Transactions, has given a curious 

 detail of some experiments in which the bees con- 

 ducted themselves somewhat similarly to those of 

 Mr. Walond. Having inclosed twelve humble- 

 bees in a bell-glass, upon a table, he gave them 

 a part of their cones or chrysalids, containing 

 about ten silken cocoons, and freeing the latter as 

 much as possible from wax, he fed the bees for 

 some days with pollen only. The cells contain- 

 ing the cones being very unequal, the mass was 

 so unsteady as extremely to disquiet the bees. 

 Their affection for their young led them to mount 

 upon the cocoons, to impart warmth to the in- 

 closed larvae : they could not do this without 

 causing the comb to totter or lean on one side, and 

 having no wax for fastening the work to the table, 

 they had recourse to the following ingenious ex- 

 pedient. Two or three bees got upon the comb, 

 and descending to the lower edge of it, with their 

 heads downwards, hung from it by the hooks of 

 their hind feet, and clung to the table by those of 

 the second pair, which are very long ; thus did 

 they keep this piece of cell-work steady by their 

 own muscular strength. When fatigued by this 



