80 SOCIAL HABITATIONS. 
Bees, no less than seven varieties of the commonest specics 
of Carder Bee are given as separate species. 
That such mistakes should he made is no matter of 
surprise when we take into consideration the capricious- 
ness with which the colours of this species are distributed 
among its members. Among the queen Bees, the abdomen 
is sometimes marked with rines of yellow, black, and red, 
and is sometimes red at the base and tip and black in the 
middle. The worker has usually a yellowish abdomen, with 
one or two blackish bands, but in some cases the whole 
abdomen is black, except a small patch on the base and 
another atthe tip. The male Bee has generally the ab«do- 
men coloured likethe first mentioned example of the worker, 
but sometimes it is wholly black, and in many cases it 1s 
black except the tip, which is dim. Indeed, these insects 
are so extremely variable, that the only method of deter- 
mining their true arrangement is by taking a great number 
of nests, breeding the inmates, and subjecting them not 
only to careful external cxamination, but also to dissection 
of their internal anatomy. 
The specific title “ muscorum,” 7@.., “of the mosses,” 
which is given to this Bee, is due to the material of which 
the next ix usually made. It was generally thought to he 
made exclusively of moss, but is in fact constructed of 
various substances, according to the locality. Mr. F. Smith 
mentions several instances where the Bees had made use 
of very singular and unexpected materials. 
In one case, Bees were scen flying into a stable through 
the latticed window, collecting the little hairs that had fallen 
from the horses during the process of currying, making 
them up into bundles, and flying off with them. On being 
watched carefully, one of the Bees was seen to alight on 
some grass, not very far from the stable, and among the 
vrass was found the est, which was composed entirely 
