462 ENEMIES OF BEES. 
the five pairs of hind ones; are delineated. ‘The tail is also 
furnished with two of these legs. The breathing holes are 
seen on the back. 
807. Wax is the chief food of these worms, but as Dr. 
Donhoff says: ‘ Larve fed exclusively on pure wax will 
die, wax being a non-nitrogenous (221) substance, and 
not furnishing the aliment required for their perfect devel- 
opment ;’’ and his statement agrees with the fact that their 
larve prefer the brood-combs, which are lined with the skins 
cast away by the bee-larve (167), and which, in conse- 
quence, are more liable to be devoured than the new ones. 
In fact, they eat pollen and propolis, and while making their 
cocoons, they even seem to relish woody fibre, for they 
often eat into the wood of the frames or of the hives in which 
they are allowed to propagate, while comb-foundation re- 
mains almost untouched by them. 
8U8. When obliged to steal their living among a strong 
colony of bees, they seldom fare well enough to reach the 
size which they attain when rioting at pleasure among the full 
combs of a discouraged population. In about three weeks, 
the larvee stop eating, and seek a suitable place for encas- 
ing themselves in their silky shroud. In hives where they 
reign unmolested, almost any place will answer their pur- 
pose, and they often pile their cocoons upon one another, 
or join them together in long rows. They sometimes oc- 
cupy the empty combs, so that their cocoons resemble the 
capping of the honey-cells. In Fig. 1938, Mr. Tidd has 
given a drawing, accurate in size and form, of a curious 
instance of this kind. The black spots, resembling grains 
of gunpowder, are the excrements of the worms. 
If the colony is strong, the worm runs a dangerous gaunt- 
let, as it passes, in search of some crevice, through the 
ranks of its enraged foes. Its motions, however, are ex- 
ceedingly quick, and it is full of cunning devices, being 
able to crawl backwards, to twist round on itself, to curl up 
