136 BETTS : THE FUNGI OF THE BEE-HIVE. 
(in one of them) Penicillium crustaceum made their appearance. No 
mould had been noticed in the combs when the hive from which 
the swarm issued was inspected in \pril; this perhaps accounts for 
the absence of Pericystis alvei from the cultures. 
Some of the fungi which are brought into the hive seem unable 
to establish themselves in it. This is naturally the case with special- 
ized parasites such as Ustilago (the spores of which are sometimes 
mistaken for pollen by the bees and collected as such); but it occurs 
also in instances where a different result might be expected. The 
most striking is that of a species of Cladosporium, the conidia of 
which are frequently present on the bodies of bees and in the pellets 
of pollen carried into the hive during the summer and autumn (as 
has been proved by cultures). 
None of the species here discussed appear to be pathogenic. 
The presence of much mould in a stock is, however, if not a cause, 
at any rate a sign of unhealthy conditions. It indicates either that 
the hive is not weather-proof, or that the colony is weak; and is 
moreover a source of much labour to the bees in the spring, when 
they have to remove the hard plugs of mouldy pollen from the 
combs, a process which often necessitates the breaking down of the 
cell-walls. 
THE FUNGI. 
The twelve species here described probably include all those 
which are frequent in bee-hives, besides several less common fungi. 
The list does not, however, pretend to be an exhaustive one; some 
further species are known to occur in the hive, but have not been 
sufficiently worked out for inclusion in the present paper. 
Eremascus fertilis, Stoppel. 
This species is not common in bee-hives, but has been met with 
once or twice. 
The appearance and dimensions agree well with those given by 
Stoppel (27). The fungus consists of delicate septate hyphae, bear- 
ing numerous asci, which (in younger cultures) may be found of all 
ages on a single hypha. The ascus arises as follows. Processes 
grow out from two adjacent cells, close to the septum between them 
(Fig. 1). These fuse, and the tip of the flattened loop so formed 
swells, is cut off by septa from the supporting hyphae, and finally 
develops into the ascus (Figs. 2, 3). Each ascus contains eight 
spores. Possibly the number of spores, as also the method of 
