304 NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA 



The Bumblebees' Night Camp 



I T is eventide and the busy day is nearly at a 

 close. How majestically the July sun subsides 

 below the horizon as one views it in the open! 

 Nature lapses into a stillness that gradually 

 supersedes the multitude of sounds made by birds and in- 

 sects. The roseate tints of the sky presage the coming of 

 night. Now turning our footsteps into the wild pasture- 

 land, I find the red, black-spotted milkweed beetle, Tetraopes, 

 still astir on the blossoms of the large milkweed, though the 

 watch indicates seven o'clock. A bumblebee is fumbling among 

 the blossoms, taking such sweets as come easily within reach. 

 Its flight of a few feet, to another plant, is noticeably lazy, the 

 bee not daring to trust itself to take a long journey in the 

 evening twilight. As the moments pass, the insects settle 

 down for the night. 



Here is a suggestion as to the bees' night camp. What 

 has become of the army of bees that we saw during the day ; 

 for instance, those on the button-bush, the blossoms of which 

 were fairly teeming with them ? With this question in mind 

 we pass a few more steps to inspect a rich cluster of bergamot 



