INSECT LIFE 203 



among the entire species, by the grooves in which 

 it runs. Once take the wild creature out of one of 

 these deep grooves, face it with novel conditions or 

 difficulties, and its understanding and resources seem 

 to fail. 



Bees set in a country unknown to them will soon 

 find their way to the best honey fields miles around. 

 All bees, in health and strength, seem to be equally 

 good in this ; leaving the hive on the very morning 

 it is set in a land new to them, they will range far 

 and wide at once, and yet find their way home. But 

 move the hive a dozen yards, or less, whilst the 

 workers are foraging, and when they return they 

 will be utterly confused they are out of the groove. 

 There is the hive a few paces off, clear as can be; 

 yet with all the thousand facets of her wondrous eye, 

 the poor bee is lost and confounded. She will settle 

 on the spot where the hive was, and crawl about 

 there ; it may be she will never enter the hive again. 



All the wisdom and patriotism of the hive runs in 

 grooves ; all the precautions against weather, disease, 

 enemies. As to the last, Huber did make an astonish- 

 ing statement. He described the death's-head moth 

 as a new enemy of honey-bees in his part of France, 

 an insect which terrified them and entered their hives 

 after dusk. He said that he took measures to prevent 

 the great moth entering the hives, but found that 

 many of the bee communities had taken their own 

 precautions, building a waxen wall to keep out the 



