^20 THE BEE, 



the fame fpecies : this is larger in fize, and more varle-' 

 gated in colour : It conftru£ts its n^ll in a hafty manner, 

 of piles of mofo, coHecled in the meadows. The vault- 

 ed roof proves a fecurity againd rain, and the flooring of 

 mofs below preferves the neft from damps. 



The female bee colltdls un wrought wax, and a fpecies 

 of honey, in a few cells coarfely conftrucled, and there 

 ihe lays her eggs ; the hive gradually increaling, till it 

 contain fifty or fixty bees, which, by che froits and rains 

 of winter, are almoft wholly deltroyed. A few impreg- 

 nated females iurvive the feverity of the feafon, and build 

 new nefts in the fpring, which are to be the cradles of 

 new hives. Field mice, hornets, and ants, often plunder 

 from thefe induftrious animals the little veffels of honey 

 which they had laid up for the winter f. 



t Barbut, p. a68. 



