H 



purposes the burrow of some boring insect in dead wood, and line it with a thin coating of 

 clay, forming cells one above the other, and storing them with balls of honey and pollen. 

 They are frequently known as " wood bees." 



APIDjE. 



This family contains the " social bees ;" insects endowed with wonderful habits of 

 industry, and of foresight and care in the rearing of their offspring. It contains only 

 three genera of which the first, Apathus, is, I regret to say, apparently unworthy of its 

 high position in the Hymenoptera. Its members toil not to lay up sweet stores in houses 

 built by themselves, but live with their industrious relatives the humble-bees, and are 

 believed to be mere parasites, or lazy mess-mates of their friends. There are several 

 species, each mimicking more or less closely one or other of the species of Bombus, and 

 probably infesting the nests of that species. They can, however, be readily distinguished 

 from the humble-bees by the shape of the hinder legs, which lack the basket-like form of 

 those of the latter insects. 



Of the genus Bombus, there are some thirty species recorded as occurring in Canada, 

 or about one-half of those described from North America. These are the large noisy 

 insects so well-known as "humble" or "bumble" bees, which abound wherever flowering 

 plants are found, and which add not a little life and animation to the outdoor world 

 during summer. The record of their life is similar to that already recorded for the wasp. 

 The hibernating, impregnated female founds in spring a colony which grows during the 

 summer, by the addition of the "workers" reared in the nest, and which cheerfully assist 

 their mother in all the duties of the establishment. The larva?, however, are fed with a 

 sweet paste of honey and pollen, and instead of dwelling in paper cells occupy waxen ones. 

 The nests of our species are usually placed underground ; a favorite locality being the 

 deserted nest of a field-mouse. The comb has not the regularity of structure attained by 

 the honey-bee, being merely a cluster of oval cells, varying in size, and without arrange- 

 ment of any kind, while the wax of which they are made is of a very inferior quality and 

 dingy appearance. The females and workers have the hinder tibiae flattened and broad, 

 and surrounded by a fringe of long hairs, so as to form shallow baskets in which they can 

 gather and transport a large quantity of pollen at each trip. As the colony only lasts for 

 one season, no honey is collected beyond that necessary for the nourishment of the larva?. 

 About mid-summer males and females are reared, in order that the continuance of the 

 race may be provided for, but the males perish after the fecundation of the females, and 

 some of these alone survive the winter. 



We have now arrived at the last, and, at least to man, the most important member 

 of the Hymenoptera — the honey-bee, and its productions have been celebrated by poets 

 and other writers of all ages, and the store that it gathers for its nourishment has ever 

 been considered not only a palatable article of- food, but also a luxury fit for the table of 

 a king. It would require far more than the few pages allotted to me for this paper to 

 give even a concise history of this truly wonderful insect. Fortunately it is so well known 

 throughout Canada that my readers do not require any description of it, and probably a 

 large number of them have a far more practical knowledge of it than I myself possess. 

 Apis incllifica, as it is scientifically known, is not a native of Canada, but has been brought 

 hither from the old world. There are several varieties known to bee-cultivators, which 

 have been received from various countries, as Italy, Palestine, Syria, and Cyprus. Such 

 is the importance placed upon the improvement of bee-stocks, that new breeds are sought 

 for in the most distant lands, with the hope of obtaining additional good qualities, and 

 numerous hybrids between the several kinds have already been produced. The hives, 

 unlike the colonies of humble-bees, contain communities flourishing from year to year, 

 and sending forth new swarms each season, while the surplus stores they garner amount 

 to millions of pounds annually, and form a considerable item in the food supply of, 

 mankind. 



