THE ORANGE-TAILD HUMBLE BEE. 



The right hand insect in the engraving is the CARPENTER BEE of Southern Africa 

 one of those curious insects which construct a series of cells in wood. After completing 

 their burrow, which is open at each end, they close the bottom with a flooring of 

 agglutinated sawdust, formed of the morsels bitten off during the operation of burrow- 

 ing, lay an egg upon this floor, insert a quantity of " Bee-bread," made of the pollen of 

 flowers and their juices, and then cover the whole with a layer of the same substance 

 that was used for the floor. Upon this is laid another egg, another supply of bee-bread 

 is inserted, and a fresh layer of sawdust superimposed. Each layer is therefore the 

 floor of one cell and the ceiling of another, and the insect makes on the average about 

 ten or twelve of these cells. 



AT the left hand of the engraving is shown one of the numerous HUMBLE BEES, a 

 group of insects readily recognized by their thick hairy bodies and general shape. Their 

 nests are placed underground, often in banks, and contain a variable number of cells, 



Bombus orleatalls. 



Apis fasclatus. 



Xylocopa Caffrm. 



sometimes not more than twenty in number, and sometimes exceeding two, or even three, 

 hundred. The cells are loosely connected together, and are of an oval shape, their text- 

 ure being tougher and more paper-like than those of the hive bee. In these, as in the 

 ordinary bees, there are the three kinds of inhabitants ; but with the Humble Bees, both 

 the females and neuters take part in the labors of the establishment, while the number 

 of perfect females is comparatively large. 



The honey made by these insects is peculiarly sweet and fragrant, but to many persons, 

 myself included, is rather injurious, always causing a severe headache. Some of the 

 Humble Bees (Bombus muscbrum employ moss in the construction of their nests, and 

 pass it, fibre by fibre, through their legs, in a manner that reminds the observer of carding 

 cotton. They are on that account popularly called CARDER BEES. Others, again 

 (Bombus lapidarius), prefer to make their nests in heaps of stones, or similar localities, and 

 these are the fiercest of their kind. Generally, the Humble Bees are quiet and inof- 

 fensive, even permitting their nest to be laid open and the cells extracted without offering 

 to molest the invader. The ORANGE- TAILED HUMBLE BEE, however, is large and fierce ; 



