4IO 



Bee Moth Described. 



on the comb, or even in the drone cells (Fig. 192, c), m 

 which they become pupae, and in two weeks, even less- 

 sometimes, during the extreme heat of summer, the moths 

 again appear. In winter they may remain as pupae for 

 months. The moths or millers— sometimes incorrectly 

 called moth-millers— are of an obscure gray color, and thus 

 so mimic old boards that they are very readily passed unob- 

 served by the apiarist. They are about three-fourths of 

 an inch long, and expand (Fig. 193) nearly one and one- 



FlGf 



Fig. 



192. 



193- 



fourth inches. The females are darker than the males, 

 possess a longer snout, and are usually a little larger. The 

 wings, when the moths are quiet, are flat on the back for 

 a narrow space, then slope very abruptly. They rest by 

 day, yet, when disturbed, will dart forth with great swift- 

 ness, so Reaumur styled them " nimble-footed. " They are 

 active by night, when they essay to enter the hive and 

 \deposit their one or two hundred eggs. If the females are 

 held in the hand they will often extrude their eggs; in 

 fact they have been known to do this even after the head 

 and thorax were severed from the abdomen, and, still more 

 strange, while the latter was being dissected. 



It is generally stated that these are two-brooded, the 

 first moths occurring in May, the second in August. Yet, 

 as I have seen these moths in every month from May to 



