ROADSIDE LIFE. 255 



nests of other bees — this segment is narrower, and 

 is not furnished with organs for collecting and car- 

 rying pollen. 



Some bees are solitary — that is, each female makes 

 a nest for her own young. Several kinds of these 

 will be described later. Here mention will be made 

 only of the social bees — those kinds in which a large 

 number of individuals work together to make a 

 common nest. Of these there exist in this country 

 the honey-bee and various species of bumblebees. 

 These belong to the family Apid^ (A'pi-dae). 



The Honey-bee. — The honey-bees are constant 

 visitors of roadside blossoms ; here they are intently 

 busy probing rapidly flower after flower as if they 

 had not a moment to lose. Some amass great loads 

 of yellow pollen on their hind legs, while others 

 think only of gathering nectar. Some of them are 

 plebeian black bees, while others bear the yellow 

 bands at the base of the abdomen, characteristic of 

 the more aristocratic Italian blood. The bees never 

 seem satisfied with the yield of nectar ; they drain a 

 few florets on a spray of blossoms, and then, as if 

 hoping to find a larger crop, they fly to another, only 

 to repeat the operation a moment later. 



As there are many special books on the honey- 

 bee, we will not take the space to describe here the 

 habits of this wonderful species. The best way to 

 study it is to spend some time in an apiary with a 

 practical beekeeper, and then continue the study by 

 means of an observation hive, which can be obtained 

 of most dealers in beekeepers' supplies. Such a 

 hive can be placed in a schoolroom with its entrance 

 at a window, and so arranged that the bees can not 



I8 



