Bombus, the Bumble-Bee. 171 
The worker-bees are only half as large 
as the queens, though they vary a good 
deal in size. Sometimes the eggs laid in 
corners, or under the large cocoons, hatch 
into poor little larve, that have no chance 
to grow. So they make tiny little co- 
coons, and hatch out into funny ar 
little bits of bumble-bees. Some- “*==—> 
times these little dwarfs are no 4 Dwarf. 
larger than honey-bees. But, I can tell you, 
they feel as big as anybody. They buzz 
about and gather pollen and honey like 
the other bees. 
Late in the summer Queen Bombus lays 
fertilized eggs that make queens. I sup- 
pose the larve are fed on all the bee-milk 
they want, and so become queens instead 
of workers. Queen Bombus, also, toward 
the end of the summer lays unfertilized 
eggs, and of course these hatch into drones. 
Bumble-bee queens do not kill each other, 
and the bumble-bees do not kill their drones. 
After the queens and drones are hatched, 
