242 THE BEE keeper's MANUAL. 



er^l such days follow in succession, the female oppressed 

 with the urgent necessity of laying her eggs, may be seen 

 endeavoring to gain admission to the hives. The female 

 is much larger than the male, and " her color is deeper and 

 more inclining to a darkish gray, . with small spots "or 

 blackish streaks on the interior edge of her upper wings." 

 The color of the male inclines more to a light gray ; 

 they might easily be mistaken for'different species of moths. 

 These insects are surprisingly agile, both on foot and on 

 the wing. The motions of a bee are very slow in com- 

 parison. They are, " says Reaumur, " the most nimble- 

 footed creatures that I know." " If the approach to the 

 Apiary* be observed of a moonlight evening, the moths 

 will be found flying or running round the hives, watching 

 an opportunity to enter, whilst the bees that have to guard 

 the entrances against their intrusion, will be seen acting as 

 vigilant sentinels, performing continual rounds near this 

 important post, extending their antennsB to the utmost, 

 and moving them to the right aud left alternately. Woe 

 to the unfortunate moth that comes within their reach !" " It 

 is curious," says Huber, "to observe how artfullythe moth 

 knows how to profit, to the disadvantage of the bees, 

 which require much light for seeing objects ; and the pre- 

 cautions taken by the latter in reconnoitering and expel- 

 ling so dangerous an enemy." 



The entrance of the moth into a hive, and the ravages 

 committed by her progeny, forcibly remind one of the 

 sad havoc which sin often makes of character and hap- 

 piness, when it finds admission into the human heart, and 

 is allowed to prey unchecked, upon all its most precious, 

 treasures ; and he who would not be so enslaved by its pow- 

 er, as to lose all his spiritual life and prosperity, must be 

 * Bevan. 



