88 THE BIOLOGY OF THE SEASONS 



" A nest of Bombus, exhibiting the various pots projecting 

 from the remains of empty and partially destroyed cells, 

 presents, as may well be imagined, a very curious appearance. 

 Some of the old cells apparently are partly destroyed for 

 the sake of the material they are composed of. Others are 

 formed into honey-tubs, of a makeshift nature. It must be 

 recollected that, as a colony increases, stores of provisions 

 become absolutely necessary, otherwise in bad weather the 

 larvae could not be fed. In good weather, and when flowers 

 abound, these bees collect and store honey in abundance ; 

 in addition to placing it in the empty pupa-cells, they 

 also form for it special receptacles ; these are delicate 

 cells made entirely of wax filled with honey, and are always 

 left open for the benefit of the community. The existence 

 of these honey-tubs in bumble-bees' nests has become known 

 to our country urchins, whose love for honey and for the 

 sport of bee-baiting leads to wholesale destruction of the 

 nests. According to Hoffer, special tubs for the storing of 

 pollen are sometimes formed ; these are much taller than the 

 other cells. The Psithyrus that live in the nests with the 

 Bombus are generally somewhat larger than the latter, 

 and consequently their cells may be distinguished in the 

 nests by their larger size. A bumble-bee's nest, composed 

 of all these heterogeneous chambers rising out of the ruins 

 of former layers of cells, presents a scene of such apparent 

 disorder that many have declared that the bumble-bees do 

 not know how to build." 



There are many points of fascinating interest in respect 

 to humble-bees. There is the extraordinary industry 

 throughout the summer the collecting of pollen and nectar 

 from the flowers, the making of the cells in the nests, the 

 feeding and tending of the young. It is difficult to refrain 

 from quoting too much from Dr. Sharp's great contribution 

 to Entomology ; we venture to give one of his notes on 



