204 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



minutes' inspection of flowers in which the nectar is easily 

 accessible. 



The long-tongued bees may for our present purpose be 

 arranged into two principal groups, those that live solitary 

 lives and those that live social lives. The former are 

 comparatively few and so are of little importance as 

 pollinators of cultivated crops. One of the most distinc- 

 tive forms is that of the Leaf Cutter Bees, which have the 

 curious habit of cutting out pieces of leaves, to use in 

 building their nests. Roses and other plants often show 

 leaflets in which a rounded piece has been neatly cut out. 

 This is generally the work of one of these Leaf Cutter 

 Bees. These insects may be recognized from the fact 

 that the under side of the body is covered with a brush of 

 hairs, which is used in collecting the pollen for provision- 

 ing the nests. 



SOCIAL BEES 



But the insects to which mankind is indebted beyond all 

 others for carrying pollen are the social bees, of which the 

 familiar Bumblebee and the domestic Honeybee are typical 

 examples. These bees live in colonies, a single colony 

 often consisting of a vast number of individuals. To a 

 large extent these insects have at least three distinct forms 

 in each colony. In addition to the true males and females 

 or the drones and queens, there are great numbers of 

 workers, which are generally smaller in size and which 

 do most of the work of gathering nectar and pollen to 

 provision the nests with honey and bee bread. 



The yearly cycle in the life of the Bumblebees furnishes 

 a good illustration of the habits of the social bees. Early 

 in spring you may often find the large queen Bumblebees 

 flying slowly about close to the surface of the ground in a 



