8o6 



THE NATURE BOOK 



iDi.Ai, sixiuiN riiKoLGii iil Miii.L i;i;i;s Ni-:sT. 



Showing entrance tunnel vA), packing of vegetable refuse, comb of cocoons, etc. 



in the accompanying photograph by 

 arrows (p. 807). The smaller heaps each 

 cover four or five shining v.'hite eggs ; 

 the larger heaps as many hungry grubs. 

 These strange nurseries are character- 

 istic of Humble -Bee housekeeping. We 

 all know that hi\'e Bees rear their grubs 

 in hexagonal waxen cells, bringing food 

 to the httle gaping mouths, just as birds 

 feed their nestlings. But the rough and 

 ready Humble -Bee follows another plan. 

 Let us carry our minds back to the early 

 spring-time, and v.-itness in imagination 

 the origin of such a nest as the one we 

 have depicted. The queen-mother, newly 

 come from her winter hiding-place, seeks 

 out a suitable cavern — her choice often 

 falUng upon the deserted home of a 

 field mouse. She then sallies forth to 

 collect pollen and nectar from the flowers ; 

 and certain vegetable materials from 

 which she is able to concoct the waxy 

 substance which she employs in cell- 

 making. She then returns to her chosen 

 cavern, and commences to form a waxen 

 cell, roughly spherical, the inner walls 

 of which she coats liberally with honey- 

 saturated pollen. Several eggs are now 

 laid in the cell, which is then completely 



closed. The queen's next care is to 

 construct one or two waxen tubs, which 

 she subsequently fills with honey. These 

 reservoirs are drawn from to feed the 

 grubs, especially on rainy days when the 

 queen-mother is unable to gather nectar 

 direct from the flowers. 



Not long after the young grubs hatch 

 from the eggs they consume the whole 

 of the food with which their cell is 

 hned ; and then the queen-mother con- 

 veys more food to the interior by ejecting 

 it from her mouth through a hole made 

 for the pur])ose in the side of the cell. 

 Moreover, the industrious creature, still 

 labouring alone, forms other cells, and 

 deposits more eggs within them. Yet 

 all the time she must busy herself in 

 collecting food for the young grubs 

 which have already hatched. 



.Vs the grubs in each cell increase in 

 size, they push against the soft, waxen 

 v/alls around them, so that the cell 

 gradually grows into an irregular truifle- 

 like mass. When full grown, each grui) 

 spins for itself a cocoon of exceedingly 

 fine silk. These cocoons are spun within 

 the remains of the cell ; and the queen- 

 mother (later, her assistants the workers) 



