130 ' hy:\ienoptera. 



brood-cells. The brood-cells are hexagonal ; tliej are not 

 deep, and the young ones, 's\hen ready to burst their casement, 

 just fill the whole cavity. The mother bee is lighter in color 

 than the other bees, and elongated at the abdomen to double 

 their length." Smith also states that the female of this genus 

 has the abdomen greatly distended, reminding one of the 

 gravid female of the White Ant. (Smith, Proc. Ent. Soc, 

 London, Dec. 7, 18G3.) 



In North America, our nearest ally, as regards its habits, of 

 the true Honey-bee, is the Humble-bee (Bombus), of -nhich 

 over forty species are known to inhabit North America. 



The economy of the Humble-bee is thus : the queen awakens 

 in early spring from her Avinter's sleep beneath the leaA'es or 

 moss, or in deserted nests, and selects a nesting-place generally 

 in an abandoned nest of a field-mouse, or beneath a stump or 

 sod, and "immediately," according to Mr. F. W. Putnam, 

 "collects a small amount of pollen mixed with honey, and in 

 this deposits from seven to fourteen eggs, gradually adding to 

 the pollen mass until the first brood is hatched. She does not 

 wait, however, for one brood to be hatched before laying the 

 eggs of another ; but, as soon as food enough has been collected, 

 she lays the eggs for a second. The eggs [Plate 4, Fig. 2] 

 are laid, in contact with each other, in one cavity of the mass 

 of pollen, with a part of which they are slightly coA^ered. They 

 are very soon developed ; in fact, the lines are nowhere dis- 

 tinctly drawn between the egg and the larva, the larva and 

 pupa, and again between the latter and the imago ; a perfect 

 series, showing this gradual transformation of the 3'oung to the 

 imago, can be found in almost every nest. 



"As soon as the larvse are capable of motion and commence 

 feeding, they eat the pollen bj^ which they are surrounded, and, 

 gradually separating, push their way in various directions. 

 Eating as they move, and increasing in size quite rapidly, they 

 soon make large cavities in the pollen mass. "When the}- have 

 attained their full size, they spin a silken wall about them, 

 which is strengthened by the old bees coA'ering it with a thin 

 layer of wax, which soon becomes hard and tough, thus form- 

 ing a cell. [Plate 4, Figs. 1, 2.] The larvte now gradually 

 attain the pupa stage, and remain inactive until their full devel- 



