5 
gold-beater’s skin, provision these with a paste of honey and 
pollen, and then attach their eggs to the insides of the cells. 
There is no worker caste, and the larval bees have to feed 
themselves un the store provided. 
More akin to the hive bees are the Bombi, or humble bees, 
so well described and so beautifully figured in Mr. F. W. L. 
Sladen’s “Humble Bee.” These are familiar to all dwellers 
in the country, but are not so nearly related to the hive bees 
as is commonly supposed. They are social indeed, but the 
colonies break up in the autumn, and only the young queens 
survive the winter, which they pass in holes in the ground. 
These queens start new colonies next season, and undertake 
every duty involved in the rearing of the first batch of brood. 
The drone of the humble bee is smaller than the queen, aad 
leaves the nest as soon as he can fly, henceforth supporting 
himself on nectar obtained from flowers. Most of the humble 
bees working on flowers in late autumn will be found to be 
drones, as shown by the absence of a sting. 
The Genus A)is. 
All Apide, which form colonies more or less permanent 
(perennial rather than annual) are grouped together to form 
the Genus Apis, which includes such species as A. mellifica 
(the common hive bee), d. fasciata (the Egyptian bee), 
A. dorsata (the giant bee of India), and A. florea (the tiny 
East Indian bee). 
Having now defined the position of the honey bee in the 
animal world, and indicated its relation to other types, we are 
in a position to study Ap/s mellifica in more detail. 
