672 THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



bers of the family. Neither is it probable that the bumble- 

 bees are unable to drive their guests away. Let any one in- 

 clined to this view disturb a bumblebee's nest, and he will 

 probably have an increased appreciation of their powers of 

 defence. These facts have led some naturalists to believe that 

 these aristocratic guests perform some important and neces- 

 sary duties conducive to the general prosperity of the whole 

 colony, although as yet we have not the slightest hint as to 

 what these duties may be. 



III. THE SOCIAL BEES. 



The social bees are so called because many individuals 

 work together to build a common home. Here, as with the 

 ants and with the social wasps, we find three forms of in- 

 dividuals — the males or drones, the females or queens, and 

 the workers. The workers are a caste of females that rarely 

 lay eggs, but are especially adapted for performing the 

 labors of the colony. 



Our native social bees belong to the genus Bombus y and 

 are commonly known as bumblebees. Of these more than 

 fifty species have been described from North America. 

 We have also an introduced, domesticated species, the 

 Honey-bee, which now lives wild in all parts of our country, 

 building its nest in hollow trees and in other situations. 



The Bumblebees, Bombus (Bom'bus). — The clumsy rover, 

 the bumblebee, is an old friend of us all. As children we 

 caught her off thistle-blossoms and imprisoned her in 

 emptied milkweed pods, and bade her sing for us. We 

 robbed her nest in the hay-field, and tried to believe that 

 the strongly-flavored honey, mixed with dirt, was delicious. 

 And all our lives the sound of her droning has brought to 

 us visions of blue skies, roadsides golden with buttercups, 

 and fields purple with clover-blossoms. And she has de- 

 served all the attention and affection bestowed upon her, 

 because she is usually good-natured and companionable. 

 She is a happy-go-lucky insect, and takes life as it comes 



