196 APIDJE. 



nests (I allude to the species that construct them underground) ; 

 such may be the case in some instances or in other countries, but I 

 have never succeeded in finding them thus domiciled. The situa- 

 tions in which I have found them have been in the accumulation of 

 rubbish, under clumps of furze, in the dry rotten wood of decaying 

 trees, under moss in woods, and repeatedly under stacks of turf on 

 commons ; in all such situations I have found them singly, never 

 packed in clusters, as has been described. 



The females having passed the winter months in a state of tor- 

 pidity are roused from their slumber by the warmth of the earliest 

 spring days, and at once commence their life of unceasing labour. 

 The burrowers underground are the first to appear and to seek for 

 some cavity that may in some degree abridge their labour : a small 

 one suits for the establishment of the colony ; but the enlargement 

 of it as the nest increases in dimensions devolves upon the offspring. 

 These bees are occasionally found with loads of earth attached to their 

 legs, and I have seen them so overloaded as to be unable to take flight 

 until they had freed themselves of part of their load. The parent bee, 

 having found a suitable situation for her nest, collects quantities of 

 pollen and honey, hoarding it up in a mass : having a sufficient supply 

 she commences depositing eggs upon it ; in a few days the larvae 

 hatch, and at once commence to feed on the food on which they are 

 cradled. At the side of the mass of food the parent bee also constructs 

 receptacles called honey-pots, in which a coarse kind of liquid honey 

 is stored : the use of this has been suggested to be for keeping the 

 food of the larvae moist ; but in my opinion it is for the suste- 

 nance of the working colony at such times as they are prevented by 

 unfavourable weather from leaving the nest. 



When the larvae are full-grown they spin a tough oval cocoon 

 of silk, in which they rapidly undergo their transformation into the 

 pupa state, and shortly afterwards acquire their perfect condition. 

 The first bees developed are neuters, or workers. On emerging 

 from the cocoons they are by no means in a mature state, fitted to 

 take part in the labour of the community ; several days elapse before 

 they acquire the gay livery they are dressed in when they quit the 

 nest and commence their labours. Young females do not appear 

 until the season is considerably advanced, and later on males make 

 their appearance ; but the development of the various species differs 

 considerably as to the time of the sexes being matured. My own 

 observation in this respect leads me to the belief that B. pratorum 

 first produces the males ; these I have found usually about the third 

 week in May. It has been asserted that males of this genus having 

 once quitted the nest never return to it. That they seldom do so 

 may be strictly correct ; but I have seen the male of B. jpratorum, 

 B. hortorum, and also that of B. derhamellus enter their nests ; and 

 Mr. Kirby states, speaking of a male, " I have myself seen this 

 insect entering the nidus of A. lapidaria." 



The number of which the various communities consists varies very 

 considerably; but as a rule the burrowers underground have a popu- 

 lation twice as numerous as the surface-builders. The numbers in 



