154 



HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



the Cerceris generally selects the very beetles which are most in- 

 jurious to vegetation, such as the various weevils and the turnip- 

 fleas. Mr. Smith is of opinion that the shells of the beetles are 

 softened by the dampness of the ground in which they lie. 



In the accompanying illustration are shown the nests of two 

 common species of British Humble-bee. 



Bombus Terrestria. 



Bombus Lapidarius. 



Both these species are burrowers, and sometimes make their 

 nests at a considerable depth beneath the surface. The common 

 Humble-bee {Bombus terrestris) generally makes its subterranean 

 house in the side of some bank, and the nest is usually found at 

 a depth of a foot or eighteen inches. Sometimes, however, in 

 places where the soil is light and friable, the nest has been found 

 at a very great depth from the surface, so that a perpendicular 

 shaft of five feet in length has been required before the nest 



