POLYMORPHISM IN SPECIES. 191 



of wax, fills it with pollen soaked with honey, and 

 lays a pair of eggs in it. From these, larvae soon 

 emerge, which grow rapidly, and therefore require 

 much food. The mother now toils energetically day 

 and night for the welfare of her children, by day 

 collecting, and feeding the larvae, by night biting 

 up and arranging the materials of the nest, coating 

 it with wax-like material, and warming the young. 

 She allows herself little rest, except when the 

 weather is bad. At last, in the beginning of May, 

 or, in some forms, several weeks later, the first young 

 bumblebees creep forth. These are the workers, 

 much smaller than the mother or. queen — are, in fact, 

 stunted queens. They fly forth at once to collect 

 honey and pollen, which they bring into the nest. 

 As long as there are but few of these workers the 

 mother continues to fly out also to the fields and 

 collect industriously, but afterwards she goes out 

 less ; she now remains much at home, laying eggs 

 and tending them. At last she ceases entirely from 

 going out, her wings, as a rule, becoming useless. 

 Some of the workers tend their younger sisters who 

 are still in the cells, and feed them, work at the 

 construction of the nest, keep it clean, and lick and 

 warm the young bees when they creep forth. The 

 workers raise a great humming if the nest is dis- 

 turbed, and defend it by stinging the intruder. 



