AMONGST THE BEES AT WORK 83 



as their steadier flight. A fly turns about more 

 rapidly than a bee, and sits down much more 

 abruptly. Bees are very captious about the 

 weather ; they do not like an east wind and are, 

 apparently, very sensitive to coming wet. I 

 have often gone out on a bright morning and 

 been surprised to find nothing stirring, and then 

 clouds have come up and proved the wisdom of 

 the bees in staying at home. They also fly very 

 little in cloudy weather, especially in the early 

 spring, when the temperature is reduced by 

 cloud below their fancy. One may be watching 

 a sallow bush and see dozens of insects flying 

 about. A cloud shadows it, and almost immedi- 

 ately they disappear, to appear again as suddenly 

 with the return of the sun's rays. It is inter- 

 esting to watch bees at work collecting pollen, 

 etc., but if any one wishes to study them at 

 home, their nesting haunts must, of course, be 

 visited. These are so various that it is impossi- 

 ble to point them all out, but the best locality to 

 select is a sandy bank facing south. In June 

 or July such a bank is often alive with bees, 

 sand- wasps, etc. ; here, again, we want sun- 

 shine or the bees will stay in their holes. 



