BOMBUS, THE HUMBLE-BEE 71 



July or in August. Once grown up the queen, 

 as a rule, soon leaves the nest, but she is " a shy 

 bird" and hides herself away in some cranny or 

 among some debris. Here she is diligently sought 

 for by the males, which pause at every likely 

 spot and emit a very pleasing scent, possibly to 

 attract the queens. Sometimes they try to inter- 

 cept their brides as they leave the nest, but in 

 any case the queen, once fertilised, abandons her 

 home, which soon falls into decay, and seeks for 

 winter quarters. Before leaving the nest she 

 has filled up her crop with honey, and this must 

 suffice her for food during the next nine months 

 or so, when she is en retraite. The queens of 

 some species (B. terrestris) like to winter in bur- 

 rows under trees, those of others (B. lapidarius) 

 high up in banks. But whatever habitat is 

 chosen, damp must be avoided and the aspect 

 must be northerly. This latter is also true of 

 hibernating wasps, and the explanation is not 

 far to seek. These burrowing insects are aroused 

 to activity by the warm spring sunshine ; should 

 their winter home face south, a single exception- 

 ally warm winter's day might awake them. They 

 would emerge to find the world unready for them 

 and perish without founding a colony. Gettin 



