824 



to defend ;he mouths of the hives; when preparing 

 to carry out their plans, however, they discovered 

 that in many instances the bees had already taken the 

 same course, human reason, and insect instinct producing 

 the same result. The variety of those bee fortifications 

 was also very remarkable, as they differed in almost every 

 hive; walls, or arcades, or masked gateways, of various 

 constructions, were raised with great speed and singular 

 skill. The fact that the bees did not make war upon the 

 moths with their usual arm, the sting, has been conjectured 

 by Mr. Huber, to proceed, possibly, from the resemblance 

 between the cry of the Death's-head, and that of their 

 own queen bee when captured, which, it is well known, al- 

 ways throws the entire band of working bees into disorder 

 and confusion. 



The Death's-head moth is not found in America. This 

 is rather singular, as the favorite food of its caterpillar is 

 the potato, an American vegetable, formerly unknown in 

 Europe. The Sphinx Chionanthi, one of our American 

 moths, resembles it in size ; but the larvae, and the mark- 

 ings of the moth itself, are wholly different. 



NOTE FF. 



" AMERICAN BLIGHT," (aphis lanata) p. 236. 



This blight has been a very great pest of the orchards, 

 in some countries of Europe, especially in parts of France, 

 England, and the Netherlands. In 1810, so many of the 

 cider apples of Gloucestershire were infested with it, that 

 it was feared cider-making would have to be abandoned in 

 that region. Sir Joseph Banks appears to have given the 

 insect the name of " American blight," being led to believe 

 it had not come from France, and supposing that it had 

 been imported from America with some apple-trees, 



