THE HUMBLE-BEE. 157 



self among the number, are always attacked with severe headache 

 after eating the contents even of a single cell. The color of all 

 Humble-bees is most variable, especially in the male sex — so va- 

 riable, indeed, that Mr. Kirby, in his monograph of the British 

 bees, has divided this insect into seven distinct species. As if to 

 add to the difficulty of identifying the different varieties, bees of 

 more than one species will sometimes be found in one nest. 



The colors, however, of the present species are generally as fol- 

 lows : The female is nearly an inch in length, and the general 

 color is black. The collar is orange-yellow ; a band of the same 

 hue is drawn near the second segment of the abdomen ; the hind- 

 er edge of the fourth segment and the whole of the fifth segment 

 are pale yellow, and the tip of the abdomen is naked. The work- 

 er is barely half the size of the queen, and is marked in a' similar 

 manner, except that white hairs are mixed with the yellow. The 

 male is intermediate in size, between the female and worker, being 

 about three fourths of an inch in length. The yellow is brighter 

 than in the female, and the tip of the abdomen is covered with 

 light tawnj? hairs. 



The right-hand nest in the illustration is that of the Red-tipped 

 Humble-bee of Shakspeare, known as the Lapidary Bee (Bombus 

 lapidarius), which derives its specific name from its habit of mak- 

 ing its nest within heaps of stone. This beautiful insect is plen- 

 tiful in most parts of England, and may be known by the bright 

 orange-red hue which decorates the last three segments of the 

 abdomen. The female and worker of this species are precisely 

 alike, except in their size ; the former, which is popularly called 

 the queen bee, measuring nearly an inch from the head to the tip 

 of the tail, while the worker is scarcely half that length. The 

 male is very variable in color, but is generally black, with thick 

 yellowish hairs upon the face, the fore part of the thorax, and the 

 first segment of the abdomen. 



I have always found this species to be fiercer than the preced- 

 ing, and have more than once been driven away from the neigh- 

 borhood of the nest by its rapid and incessant attacks. The sting 

 with which this bee is armed is a very formidable weapon, and 

 the poison which it conveys into the wound is extremely viru- 

 lent, causing much pain, and leaving a dull, aching sensation for 

 several days afterward. These symptoms, however, vary accord- 

 ing to the individual who is stung, and those which are mention- 

 ed are described according to personal experience. 



